Bless the Beasts and the Children
by Predec2
Summary: Thanksgiving Short Story.  Brian and Justin travel to Toronto to visit Gus, but Brian has a less-than-pleasant encounter with the newest member of the Munchers' family.  Fluff/humor.  *THIS STORY IS NOW COMPLETE!*
1. What IS it About Blonds?

DISCLAIMER: QAF and its characters are the sole owner of Cowlip Productions and Showtime; no copyright infringement is intended.

Also, the name of this story is taken from an old Carpenters' song from the '70's; I'm just borrowing it for a while and don't own any rights to it.

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><p>AN: _I couldn't resist a short story about Thanksgiving and the boys. I anticipate this being probably a couple of chapters long. Hope you enjoy it!:P)_

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><p><em>Pearson International Airport – Toronto – Day Before Thanksgiving – 4:00 p.m.<em>

Brian fidgeted uncomfortably in one of the hard, plastic chairs ringing the security station; he glanced over at the arrivals board for the third time to verify that Justin's flight had finally arrived from New York City. His plane had been delayed for an hour on the ground while they de-iced the wings as a safety precaution before it had been allowed to take off; that much he had ascertained from his partner himself. Now as he sat there among a horde of strangers in the bustling airport, he sighed. He had tried three times to reach Justin here in Toronto once the arrivals board had indicated his plane had finally landed about fifteen minutes ago, but down in the lower level of the airport they apparently hadn't discovered how to emit a strong cell signal. He scowled in disgust; one more minute on the unbending, red plastic chair and he was sure his ass would simply become permanently numb. He hefted his shoulder bag onto the empty seat beside him, amazed there was even such a luxury at the moment in light of how crowded the airport waiting area was presently, as he placed his head in his hands in frustration and sighed softly.

A cry of delighted greeting from someone nearby caused him to raise his head and observe a group of people, apparently deplaning passengers, striding towards the group of waiting family members and friends. He stood up then, grateful for his taller stature, as he quickly scanned the people walking toward them, until at last his eyes feasted on a familiar blond figure and his pulse began to speed up in response. He caught Justin's gaze and the two of them smiled warmly at each other as if they were the only two people in the airport as he picked up his bag and shuffled as quickly as he could toward his partner, cursing the bustling crowd in his way.

Finally, he emerged into a more open area and located Justin standing against a nearby wall, out of the main traffic flow. He had to smile as he recognized the familiar, black, beat-up duffle bag that Justin still used for his trips lying on the carpeted floor next to him as he rushed over and promptly swept Justin up into his arms to hug him tightly, totally oblivious to anyone who was watching. For him at that moment, anyway, no one else existed as he pulled back just enough to gaze into the beautiful, glowing face and soft, familiar blue eyes before he smashed his lips against Justin's and simply luxuriated in the familiar feel of his lover's touch, his skin, his smell, and his soft sighs of pleasure.

Finally after several seconds, Brian loosened his hold enough to stare into Justin's eyes with a warm smile; God, this man still made his heart do somersaults every time he saw him! He asked, "How was your flight?"

Justin picked up his duffle bag and Brian slung his own over one shoulder as they began to walk toward the exit. "You mean before or _after _I got off the ground? Once we were actually airborne, it was fine. It took almost as long for the plane to be de-iced as it did to fly here," he pointed out as he sighed in frustration. "It's not supposed to be snowing this early."

Brian guffawed. "Since when? I've seen people use a jack-o-lantern's head for the top of a snowman before Halloween, at least in Pittsburgh. We're a lot farther north than there." He curled his right hand around Justin's shoulder as they walked, needing that physical touch to ensure that he really was here with Justin and not separated from him. Since Justin had left for New York City, they had done a fairly credible job of seeing each other, visiting at least twice a month and speaking every day on the phone. During the times they were apart they both missed each other terribly, but each of them knew this was necessary for Justin's art career to get off the ground. It still didn't make things easy on either of them, though, so it was moments like these where they could be together that were both wonderful as well as bittersweet.

Mel and Lindsay's invitation to come to Toronto to spend Thanksgiving with them and Gus had provided them with a good reason to once more be together. They had both eagerly made arrangements to be gone through Sunday, spending Thanksgiving Day with Brian's son and the Munchers while spending some private time alone at a nearby hotel afterward. Mel and Lindsay had found the cost of living to be surprisingly high in Toronto when they had moved here several months ago, and as a result had had to make do for now with a smaller, two-bedroom home in a suburban area of the city, leaving no real room for guests to stay with them.

That was fine with Brian, though; as much as he was looking forward to seeing the son he dearly loved, he was looking forward even more to spending some much-needed quality time with Justin. That was by far the worst part of their separation; he actually physically ached for the touch that only Justin could provide for him. He never slept well at night anymore without his partner's body curled up against his and the sound of his soft, even breathing at his back. He would never discourage Justin from pursuing his dream – he knew how much it meant to him and Justin's happiness was important – but silently he hoped that their long-distance relationship would prove to be a relatively short one, because the separation was fucking killing him.

"Brian?"

He turned as he observed Justin looking at him with a frown. He smiled softly at his partner in reassurance as he said, "Yeah?"

"You okay?" Brian's troubled expression hadn't escaped his notice. This was supposed to be a happy time for both of them; why would Brian look sad? "What is it?" he asked softly as he peered up into the handsome face.

Brian turned to face him as he placed his hands on Justin's shoulders. He shook his head, not wanting to reveal the real reason for his sadness for fear it would simply lay an unmerited guilt trip on his partner. He wasn't about to do anything that would cause Justin to give up his dream, although he knew his partner well enough to know he would do it if he thought it would make him happy; he loved Justin even more for that, but he couldn't do that to him. "Nothing," he said gently as he pressed his forehead briefly against Justin's before pulling back a little. "I'm just a little tired from the trip; I've been up since before six and came straight from Kinnetik to the airport."

Justin gazed into his hazel eyes, somehow knowing that wasn't the total reason for his melancholy look but also realizing that if Brian wanted to tell him he would. Deciding for now that he preferred to dwell on the here and now and how happy he was to be with his lover again, he nodded. "Well, let's go grab a taxi, then, and get going. You still want to see Gus first before we head over to the hotel? If you're too tired, we can wait and go over tomorrow morning."

Brian briefly squeezed Justin's shoulders before he released him and shook his head. "No, it's okay; I'd like to see Gus first." He hadn't seen his son in over two months now and was anxious to reunite with him. He hadn't really realized just how much he was going to miss the young boy who looked so much like him until he moved here. Lindsay had been true to her word and had encouraged the two of them to keep in touch by cell phone, Skype and even an occasional card from Gus, which he appreciated. But it was just like Justin – it wasn't quite the same as being able to hold your son in your arms, read him a bedtime story while sitting next to him in his bed, or give him a good night kiss as he wrapped his slightly chubby arms around your neck and whispered that he loved you. Some things could not be replicated long-distance; he was anxious to see his son in person and he knew how much Justin loved him like a son and had missed him, too. His son felt the same way toward Justin; he loved him like a second father which made Brian both proud as well as grateful.

Justin nodded as the two of them walked toward the exit and stood outside on the cement walkway; to both of their surprises, the cold, cloudy air was now spitting out the first sign of fat snowflakes that slowly fluttered to the ground in front of them.

"You jinxed us, Sunshine," Brian quipped as he held his arm up to hail an approaching taxi. "You brought the winter weather with you from New York."

Justin grinned as he watched the snowflakes start to come down a little more heavily. "I think it's pretty," he observed, knowing that comment would make Brian cringe.

"You would," Brian muttered. "Damn artists." Justin laughed softly as the cab pulled up and Brian opened the passenger door and threw their bags inside onto the floor. "Get in, you little shit," he kidded him as Justin slid across the seat and Brian joined him, shaking his head as Justin beamed back at him in reaction. _God, how he had missed that smile!_ As he gave the taxi driver the address of Mel and Lindsay's house and it pulled slowly away from the curb, he reached over to silently clasp Justin's hand as his partner curled his fingers around his palm in response. He smiled over at him tenderly as he scooted over a little more into the center of the bench seat and pressed his thigh up against the smaller, denim-clad one.

"Brian…" Justin whispered a warning under his breath; he knew this man well – TOO well. He glanced over the backseat to observe the cab driver glancing back at him in the rearview mirror and his face flushed. The man knew exactly what his partner was itching to do; it was written all over the smirk on the man's swarthy face. He shot a look over at Brian who curled his lips under like a little boy's and shrugged. Fortunately for Justin, he managed to keep Brian's idea of becoming further 'reacquainted' on hold, at least temporarily, as he held tightly onto his partner's potentially wandering hand in an attempt to help him behave.

He heard Brian sigh like a kid being deprived of his favorite toy as he glanced over and grinned sympathetically at him; he wasn't the _only_ one dying to 'play.' There would be time enough later for that, though, as he turned to glance out the window at the snow now falling more in earnest; it was quickly coating the grassy areas and starting to create a thin sheet of white on the roadways. Despite it being rather early in the year for it, though, Justin still thought it was very picturesque as it sprinkled the abundance of pine trees with snowy tips of white just like a Norman Rockwell picture.

He jumped a little when he felt Brian graze his fingers with his lips as he turned back around and looked over at his partner, his head lowered as he lifted his eyes to meet his. He blushed at the unexpected overture and smiled tenderly back at his unpredictable lover. "Brian," he whispered emotionally, realizing anew just how much he had missed being with this man in every sense of the word.

Brian's heart melted at the look Justin gave him; _God, he so loved this man_. He was thankful that both of them had managed to coordinate their schedules to be together for Thanksgiving, even though he typically didn't even want to acknowledge them. He knew that Justin had given up going back home to be with his mother and sister by opting to come to Toronto, and the knowledge of that filled him with even more emotion. He had never had a family who cared one iota about his feelings or about including him as part of a loving, close-knit group; the realization that he had that now with Justin threatened to overwhelm him as he smiled back at his lover in return, hoping that the expression on his face and in his eyes would say all he wanted to say without verbalizing it aloud. He was getting better at saying those "three little words" to his lover, but it was still difficult. Justin was so adept at reading between the lines, anyway. _ Little shit_, he thought affectionately as he took his other hand and briefly squeezed Justin's upper leg before he released it. He smirked as Justin flashed him another warning.

"Hey, this isn't easy," he whispered to him as he leaned over and nipped at the fleshy lower part of his partner's ear, hearing a soft sigh in reaction. "You know what this reminds of?" he asked unexpectedly as a sudden thought occurred to him.

Justin turned to gaze into his eyes and shook his head. "What?" he asked softly, mesmerized by the largeness of Brian's pupils as he stared back at him.

Brian smiled. "This reminds me of the first night we met and Michael was driving us home."

Justin grinned at the recollection as he said, "Why? Because you didn't get what you wanted then, either?"

Brian laughed softly, a throaty sound as he growled, "Oh, yes I did. It just took me a little while longer before I got it." He was rewarded with Justin blushing an even darker of red as he waggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. He still loved the fact that his partner reacted that way, even after all these years, and he knew it was only reserved for him.

They continued on in companionable silence for approximately thirty minutes, the silence occasionally interrupted by idle small talk, until at last they arrived at the Munchers' new residence. They had no sooner gotten out of the cab, paid the taxi driver, and lifted their bags when the door banged open and a flash blew toward them, slipping on the rapidly-accruing snow. "Gus – your coat!" Lindsay called after her son, but he paid no heed; he was too busy rushing toward his two fathers in euphoria.

"Daddy! Jus'n!" Gus shrieked as he ran down the short, narrow cement walkway.

Justin grinned as he took Brian's bag so his partner could kneel down and hold his arms out toward his son. "Sonny Boy!" Brian exclaimed, the joy over seeing his son again obvious by the look on his face. "My goodness!" he cried out as the child ran full speed into his waiting arms and he scooped him up. "Look how big you're getting!" He stood up as he turned around toward Justin who leaned over and gave Gus a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Little Man!" he said to him, using his favorite nickname for him; as usual, Gus beamed at the title since he thought that meant he was getting 'growed up,' as he liked to put it. "We're so glad to see you!" He looked around Gus and Brian at Lindsay, who was smiling back at him in the doorway. "Hey, Lindsay," he said with a warm smile.

"Hi, Justin! Come on in, you two, and get out of the cold!" She swung the door open as the trio walked up the steps and entered the foyer. The house Mel and Lindsay had found was an older Victorian, not nearly as big as their previous house but with a lot of the same charm. Justin took a moment as he entered the foyer to sweep his artist's eye around the interior, admiring the curved mahogany bannister that ran the length of the stairs leading to the second floor and the tall, narrow windows in the nearby living room that let in a lot of light; the maroon-colored fabric curtains were tied back with gold sashes so the sheer, cream-colored panels underneath could allow more light to come through. He could see a long, comfortable-looking velour-type beige couch nestled in a corner of the living room, along with a matching recliner placed perpendicular to it as Lindsay called out, "Mel! They're here!" She turned to the two men to tell them, "Mel, believe it or not, is in the kitchen checking on dinner."

Brian frowned. "You left her alone in there with the strychnine?" He gently put Gus back down on the ground as Lindsay rolled her eyes and smacked him briefly on the arm.

"Brian… You promised," she reminded him. He had made a pledge on the phone last night that he would be on his best behavior around Mel, even though he knew it would take a major amount of willpower. It wasn't that he _hated_ Mel, at least not as much as he used to. Neither one of them would ever be each other's greatest fan, but at least they had finally arrived at a place where they could be in the same house together without biting each other's heads off.

He held up his hands in surrender as if to say he remembered his vow, just before to his surprise a flash of yellow came lumbering up to him instead of Mel.

"Tricky, no!" he heard Gus say just before an eighty-pound beast promptly came skidding excitedly to a halt right in front of him and began to vigorously lick his hand, which was conveniently located at shoulder height to him. Brian immediately scowled and pulled his hand away as he said to Lindsay, "What is _THAT_?"

The look on Brian's face was priceless as Justin giggled. "I think it's called a dog, Brian," he said in jest.

He's a _labador_," Gus told his father proudly as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around the dog's neck to give him a hug. "Isn't he pretty?"

"It's _Labrador_," Mel corrected him as she came walking up holding a dishrag in one hand. She dried her hands off as she stuck the cloth under her arm and smiled over at Justin. "Hey, Sweetie, how are you?" she asked Justin as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Even now, after several years, she still thought of Justin as the baby in their group, even though she had the utmost respect for him and his talents. "I'm so glad you could come." She turned to look at Brian and smirked. "Even _you_," she said with a tight smile as Brian stuck his tongue out at her briefly.

"The feeling's mutual, Mel," he quipped as she nodded back at him knowingly. He stared over at Gus and the _thing_. "Where in the hell did _that_ come from?" he asked. "No one said anything about a dog the last time I called."

"Gus wanted to surprise you," Mel volunteered helpfully, enjoying Brian's discomfiture. She knew he wasn't the greatest animal lover, and was secretly amused that he would have to co-exist with one – and a rather _large_ one at that – while he and Justin were here for the holiday. "Isn't that sweet?" she said with a smile as she glanced over at her son and the dog wrapped in their embrace.

"Oh, it's just great," Brian said sarcastically as the dog bounded over to Justin to check him out, also; Justin bent down and began to stroke the dog's heavy, blond fur coat as he cooed to him softly. He ran the silky-feeling ears through his fingers, marveling at their softness and giggled as the dog licked him on the face.

"I love these kinds of dogs!" He said with a warm smile as he gave it a short hug around the neck and stood back up, wiping his hands on his thighs. "My uncle had a black one when I was growing up. They have the sweetest dispositions." He gazed up at Mel and Lindsay. "What was his name again?"

"Tricky," Gus supplied as he continued to pet the dog's coat.

Brian's eyebrows rose as he almost choked. _"Tricky? _ What kind of name is that?"

"Brian," Lindsay chided him. "Gus picked it out."

"You did?" Brian said, turning to his son. "Why did you pick that name?"

Gus looked up at his father as if he were crazy with a 'duh' look on his face. "Because he can do all sorts of tricks."

"Like father, like son, huh, Brian?" Mel muttered as Justin snorted in amusement. "Show them, Honey," she said as Gus knelt down next to the dog who wagged his tail vigorously.

"Shake," he said as the dog promptly held his paw out and Gus shook it. "Good boy." He reached into the pocket of his jeans and retrieved a small treat as the dog gummed it and took it from his palm; Gus giggled at the ticklish sensation as he said, "Speak!"

Brian jumped, startled, as the dog let forth with a loud, deep, throaty bark. Gus again reached into his pocket and found another small bite as he held it out for Tricky to take from his hand. "Good Dog, Tricky!" he repeated as the dog wagged his tail swiftly back and forth at the praise.

"That's great, Gus," Justin told him with a smile as Gus beamed up at him. "I see your father's not the only one who can _work with tricks." _

Brian glared over at his partner, who smiled. "How about this one, Gus?" he said with a grin as he leaned down to stare into the dog's eyes. "This one's my favorite; it works on Justin all the time: _roll over_," he commanded in an authoritative voice. The dog immediately dropped onto his side and, wriggling his body, he succeeded in rolling over onto his back before he rose back up on his feet and wagged his tail some more as he waited for another snack bite.

Justin's face warmed as he felt the blush spring once more to his cheeks as the two women giggled in response. "Brian…"

"Here, Daddy - you give him the treat this time," Gus offered as he dug into his pocket and found another snack bite. He held it out to his father, but before Brian could take it from him, Tricky promptly slurped it out of Gus's palm with his large, wet tongue as Brian recoiled in disgust over what must have been the transmission of at least a million dog germs. Again, Gus giggled at the touch of the dog's wet tongue on his skin. "Too late, Daddy!" he said.

"Hand me another treat, Gus," Brian told his son as he looked down at the dog. "Can he _play dead_ for the next twenty-four hours?" Brian asked sarcastically.

"Brian!" Lindsay exclaimed. "Uh, Gus… I think that's enough for now; go wash your hands and get ready for dinner, okay? Take Tricky down to the rec room for a while until we're done eating."

"But Mom…"

"Do it, Gus," Mel said in a quiet voice; she typically wound up being the authoritarian of the two when discipline was involved, and Gus knew that. He also knew by the tone of her voice that there would be no room for argument.

"Okay, Mommy," he said, his voice tinged with a little disappointment. "Come on, Boy," he said sadly in resignation as he walked down the hallway, Tricky trotting along right behind him. "I'll let you out of jail as soon as I can."

Justin laughed softly as he watched his partner's son shuffle down the hallway. "Jail?"

"You would think I was telling him to take Tricky down to an unheated, cold basement," Mel observed as they watched Gus open the door and softly close it behind him, leaving Tricky alone for now; they could all hear the dog immediately scratching on the door and whining to come back out. "He's got a dog bed down there almost the same size as Gus's bed upstairs, along with a radio and light that Gus insists we keep on for him. He's even got an extra dog dish with food and a water bowl. Poor thing," she said with a grin. "Has to really rough it. Gus has him spoiled rotten."

Lindsay added, "We've tried to break him of the habit, but he normally winds up sleeping at the foot of Gus's bed at night. If we even _suggest_ he keep his door closed to keep him out, Gus raises such a fuss that we eventually give in. They're practically attached at the hip when he's not at school."

Justin grinned as he watched Gus walk further down the hallway and enter what he assumed was a bathroom. "How long have you had him?"

"Almost seven years now, right?" Brian quipped, tongue in cheek.

Justin smacked him on the arm. "I meant the _dog_, you asshole!" Brian merely grinned back at him; his partner was always so easy. It was almost like being Abbott and Costello.

"About a month," Lindsay informed them. "He belonged to a neighbor who had to move into an apartment and couldn't take him. Gus was already great friends with him anyway, and we knew he wanted a dog, so it was a natural fit. He _used_ to be called Murphy. That was before Gus taught him all those tricks."

"He did that himself?" Brian said, impressed. "I knew I had a smart kid."

"Well, if anyone would know how to handle tricks, it would be _your_ son," Mel responded as she smiled sweetly back at her adversary.

"O…kay," Lindsay responded as she gently but firmly grabbed Mel's arm. "Is dinner ready now?" She turned to the two men to advise, "It's not much; just some pot roast with vegetables out of the crock pot and some rolls and salad."

Justin smiled. "Sounds great," he said as he looked over at Brian with a warning glance. "Doesn't it, Brian?"

"Pot roast AND the chance to eat with Mel? I can hardly contain myself."

Lindsay sighed; some things never changed. "Well, then let's go into the dining room and get started, shall we?"

"Age before beauty," Brian snarked as he held out his hand for Mel to precede him.

"Brian…" Justin sighed as he gave him a look that clearly said _please behave_, but he had a feeling it was going to be for naught. To Brian, harassing Mel was akin to an Olympic sport. He glanced over sympathetically at the two women as he followed them down the hallway toward the end where the kitchen and dining room were located.

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><p>A hour and a half later, the two partners had enjoyed a surprisingly satisfying meal with their hosts and Brian had, to Justin's amazement, actually behaved himself with a modicum of self-restraint while they were eating, only commenting dryly once about a new perfume that Mel was wearing that actually turned out to be a mixture of brown gravy and baby powder that she had used on JR earlier before she had put her to bed.<p>

After a tour of the rest of the house, the boys prepared to head back to the hotel; both were tired from being on the go since morning and were anxious to check in for a long, steamy shower and some much-awaited, long, steamy sex before retiring for bed.

As they gathered in the living room for some decaffeinated coffee and dessert before leaving for the night, Lindsay offered to call the taxi service to come pick them up. Scrolling through a small directory of frequently-called numbers on her cell phone, she dialed the number of the Maple Leaf Taxi Service she and Mel normally used for out-of-town company and for travelling to the airport.

A few minutes later, she hung up the phone and stood up to walk over to the window. Pulling back the sheer drapes to peer outside, she turned to face Mel, Gus – who now had Tricky lying by his side on the floor – and the two men. "Looks like you're going to have to change your plans, guys," she announced. "I don't think you're going anywhere tonight. Have you looked outside? The snow's turned into a major ice storm – the taxi service said there's a snow emergency in effect and it's too treacherous right now for even them to go out. Looks like you'll have to stay here for the night."

"Yay!" Gus cried out in delight as Tricky thumped his tail against the floor and raised his head to try and determine why his master was so excited all of a sudden; not noticing anything particularly newsworthy, he lowered his head back to the ground, his deep brown eyes peering over at Brian and Justin who were sitting on the couch together.

Brian rose from his seat to walk over next to Lindsay. "You're shitting me," he said as he peered out of the parted curtains to observe the ground now covered in white; there was a definite sheen on the streets and the grass and trees, indicating they had, indeed, received quite a bit of ice since he and Justin had arrived. "You've got to be kidding me!" he added as he shook his head.

"Is it that bad?" Justin asked from his place on the couch.

Brian watched as one poor sap tried to navigate his way down the sidewalk across the street and promptly fell down on his ass; he had to raise up on his hands and knees and grasp a nearby metal handrail leading up to another house before he could eventually rise and attempt to slowly walk down the walkway, his feel slipping and sliding the entire way. "Well, unless you have a pair of extra snow shoes on you or some ice skates, yeah, it's bad," he conceded as he flipped the sheer curtain back closed and turned to stare over at his partner. He sighed in resignation. "Looks like we're stuck here for the night."

Justin nodded; it wasn't the most optimal arrangement, but at least they weren't stuck at the airport and had somewhere warm and dry to stay. "I'm sure we can figure something out." He looked over at Lindsay questioningly.

"Of course," she said with a smile as she glanced around the room. "Uh… we don't have a spare guest room yet," she said apologetically. "We haven't had a chance to convert the study upstairs into a bedroom. We could have Gus sleep with us. He has a twin bed you could use, but it's not the biggest bed in the world - it's one of those racecar beds."

"That's okay," Justin assured them, not really feeling like reliving his youth in a souped-up version of a child's bed. "I don't want to put Gus – or you – out." He looked around the living room to offer, "Brian and I could sleep on the couch – couldn't we, Brian?"

Brian eyed the piece of furniture skeptically. It was an overstuffed model, but not exactly the widest or longest couch in the world. "I suppose," he finally conceded, deciding that anywhere WITH Justin was better than anywhere WITHOUT him. He had certainly fucked in 'tighter' spaces before, and he was always quite versatile in figuring out ways to fuck his favorite blond; this wouldn't be an exception. After all, he had gone two WEEKS now without said activity and that was two weeks too long...

"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked them doubtfully. "It's not very big."

"It'll be fine, really," Justin assured them. "Thanks."

Lindsay nodded. "Mel, if you'll take care of putting Gus to bed, I'll go find them some blankets and pillows, then."

Mel nodded as she turned to take Gus's hand, but he crossed his arms defiantly over his chest as he declared instead, "I want Daddy to do it!"

_Why am I not surprised? _Mel groused silently as she sighed. "Honey, your father must be tired by now; he's been gone all day lo…"

"Come here, Sonny Boy!" Brian told his son as he knelt down and held his arms out. Mel rolled her eyes as Gus quickly rushed over to his father and Brian scooped him up in his arms to stand up, his hands cradling Gus under the butt as his son's arms slid around his neck for balance. "You want me to read you a story before you go to bed?" He knew he was offering to do it partly just to piss Mel off, but truthfully he was doing it mainly to have some precious, private time with his son that he had missed dearly.

Gus eagerly nodded his head. "Yeah, Daddy! I want you to read _Clifford the Big Red Dog_; that's Tricky's favorite!"

"Of course it is," Brian said dryly as Tricky obediently wagged his tail at the mention of his name and stood up, taking a moment to stretch his paws out in front of him to fully wake up.

"Don't even think about it, Old Yeller," Brian growled quietly at the dog as he approached him; he noticed clumps of fur on the top of his body where the dog was apparently shedding its coat for the winter; why in the world would he do that right at the time he would need the fur the most? "If you get any hair on my Armani coat…" He looked around. "Uh… Where IS my coat?"

Justin snorted. "Relax, Beastmaster; Lindsay hung our coats up in the hall closet earlier."

"Oh. Okay... Well," Brian said in relief; he jostled Gus slightly in an attempt to better shift his weight in his arms. "You ready for bed, then, Sonny Boy?"

The boy nodded his head and beamed at him as Brian smiled down lovingly into his face and turned to go; he glared at the dog as Tricky began to trot along closely behind them, clearing broadcasting his intentions. "Does he have to go with us?" he asked Lindsay.

"Oh, I don't know, Brian, I think you make a very cute couple; you always did have a soft spot for blonds," Mel called over to him with a smile on her face; she was enjoying Brian's awkwardness. It was nice for a change to see him out of his element a little and not in command of a situation. "Maybe if you ask him nicely enough, he'll go to bed with _you_ instead."

Justin pursed his lips together to keep from laughing; his partner looked so uncomfortable, torn between wanting to please his son and not wanting to be anywhere near Tricky. He knew in the end, though, that Gus would help tilt the odds in the dog's favor as Brian sighed in resignation.

"No thanks," he told Mel as he scowled at her in disgust; he looked down at Tricky, who was now sitting up on his haunches staring up at him expectantly, his big, dark brown eyes bright and expressive, almost as if he were waiting for him to speak some sort of native dog language. "All right," he conceded. "You can come; but you keep your distance, you got it? And NO licking – there's only ONE blond that's allowed to lick me, and YOU'RE not him."

"Brian," Justin said embarrassed as his face turned red and the two women turned to stare over at him in amusement; he noticed Lindsay had her hand over her mouth, no doubt in an attempt not to laugh at him. "Uh… Just get on with it, okay?" He smiled at the little boy who looked so much like his partner. "Good Night, Gus; I'll see you in the morning. Maybe we can draw something together tomorrow, okay?" Whenever he and Brian's son were together, invariable the finger paints suddenly appeared from almost out of nowhere as they combined to work on a masterpiece together; at least Gus thought so. They always wound up in a prominent place of honor on the refrigerator, anyway.

Gus nodded. "Okay," he said with a smile. "Good night, Jus'n." He raised one hand and gave Justin a sort of royal-type, side-to-side wave of his hand as Brian turned to head down the hallway.

"Good night, Sweetie!" Lindsay called after him. "We'll be up to kiss you goodnight in a little while." She watched with a grin as Tricky followed close on Brian's heels and turned to go up the steps with them. "They almost look _domestic_ together," she said with a giggle as Justin grinned at her.

"Better not let _him_ hear you say that," he warned her. "A child AND a dog? That would destroy his image forever if word got out." But as he watched his partner disappear up the steps, a look of tenderness and love written all over his handsome face as he gazed down at his son, he knew Brian truly relished his role as Gus's father and had become a better man because of it. The fact that he would agree to have an eighty-pound dog accompany him up the steps and stay in the same room with them while he read to his son was proof of that; Brian normally wouldn't let even a Chihuahua anywhere near him, much less a large, lumbering yellow Labrador.

"Don't worry; our lips are sealed," Lindsay assured him with a smile. "Now let's go find you some blankets and pillows; if I know Gus, he won't let Brian walk away until he's read the same book to him at least twice."

"I'll take these back to the kitchen, and then I'm going to go take a quick shower," Mel told Lindsay and Justin as she grabbed a nearby, white wooden serving tray with the coffee mugs and dessert plates.

As she walked away, Lindsay gently took hold of Justin's sleeve and smiled. "Come on – we can go sneak a peek at the two boys – or should I say _three_ boys – while we're upstairs."

Justin nodded and smiled; so far their Thanksgiving visit to Mel and Lindsay's house hadn't quite worked out the way he and Brian had anticipated, but he wasn't complaining. He was surrounded by his friends and he and his partner were together; that was enough for him.


	2. Irresistible

_J__ustin and Brian finally get a little 'private' time, but another blond wants some attention, too...(snicker, snicker)_

* * *

><p>The two friends walked down the short hallway and turned toward the right to trod up the steps to the second floor. At the landing, Lindsay opened up a narrow closet that was directly across from the top of the staircase. "Take whatever you guys need," she said. "These are all extras."<p>

Justin nodded as he gave Lindsay a short hug of gratitude. "Thanks; this'll be fine."

Lindsay yawned as she covered her mouth. "Sorry," she said a little sheepishly. "I guess I didn't realize how tired I was. Should we go check on the boys now?"

Justin grinned. "I'm not sure Brian and Tricky want to be disturbed. Maybe we should just give them some privacy for the time being."

Lindsay laughed. "If I didn't know better, Justin Taylor, I'd say you're enjoying this."

Justin smiled. "Damn straight I am – I think it's hilarious. Now why don't we give Tricky and Brian a little more time to get better acquainted?"

Lindsay smiled as she nodded. "Perhaps that's best," she said solemnly before the two began to giggle conspiratorially. "I'll go check on Gus a little later. Sleep well," she said as she reached over and gave Justin a small peck on the cheek.

"You too," Justin said softly with a smile as his friend turned to walk down the hallway toward her and Mel's master bedroom. Before he could descend back down to the first floor, Justin heard the familiar voice of his partner drifting out of a nearby room and couldn't resist creeping closer toward the sound. As he neared the open doorway, he could hear Brian talking, apparently reading Gus his bedtime story:

_"And Clifford brought home a brand new kitten for Emily Elizabeth to take care of." _

Justin distinctly heard an 'editorial comment' added to that sentence under Brian's breath: "What a schmuck," as he stifled a giggle.

"Daddy, what's a schmuck?"

"Uh… it means someone who likes animals."

"Oh!" Gus said brightly. "Just like me!"

"That's right," Brian told him with a smile before he turned his attention back to the book_. "And she, Clifford, and their new friend lived happily ever after. The End." _

"I don't remember the story ending like that when Mom and Momma read it, Daddy."

_Smart little fucker – definitely related to me. _"You don't? Oh. Well, it's a new version, Gus." Brian looked down into the innocent face of his child and suppressed a little guilt over ending the story a little prematurely. The truth was, he was dead on his feet after being up since five this morning; the days of going to Babylon, drinking and drugging until late into the night, coming home to fuck Justin into the mattress until the wee hours of the morning, and then rising after a few hours' sleep to go to work bright-eyed and bushy-tailed were quickly becoming a thing of the past. He had to admit it – he wasn't getting any younger and all the previous abuse on his body was slowly taking a toll. Besides, he would have tomorrow to spend all day with his son, and he vowed to make the most of it.

Justin couldn't resist peeking around the door to observe Brian sitting with his back to the racecar's headboard, holding the now-closed book in his lap; he had one arm around his son's shoulder as Gus sat next to him. Tricky, who was lying on the floor on an area rug near Gus's side of the bed, was obviously sound asleep by the looks of him; his feet were racing a mile a minute as if he were chasing a squirrel or retrieving a ball. Justin had to smile; he remembered how his uncle's black lab had always done that in _her_ sleep, too. It always fascinated him how active dogs could be while they were sound asleep and how they would emit sharp little yips under their breath, too. Before he was detected, Justin slid back out of sight, standing once more next to the open doorway a moment longer before he smiled at the tender picture he had seen and, blankets and pillows in his arms, began to walk down the hallway toward the steps.

Father and son both emitted a yawn as Brian reached over to lightly ruffle his son's hair. "Time for bed, Sonny Boy," Brian told the drowsy little boy; he helped his son to slide down onto the bed and lay his head on the pillow as he gently covered him with a maroon-colored fleece blanket.

"Tricky…"

Brian smiled at his son. "He's right here, Gus; he's lying on the rug by the bed here. He's fine."

Gus nodded sleepily, satisfied, as he blinked his eyes and looked up at his father to say in a whisper, "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Buddy?"'

"I wish you lived closer to me; I miss you."

Brian's heart lurched at the plaintive statement. He smiled down softly at his son and lightly stroked his cheek as he whispered, his voice breaking just a little, "I wish I did, too, Gus."

"Then why don't you?" Gus yawned again, struggling in a half-dream state as he fought to stay awake but slowly losing his battle.

Brian gazed into the beautiful eyes of his son, his face so full of innocence; to him, everything was so simple. _If only it really was in real life…_

"I wish I could, Gus," he told him, a wistful smile on his face. "But it's not that easy. Your Daddy has a job back home that takes up a lot of his time and he has a lot of people that depend on him there. Sometimes we can't always do what we want, Buddy. No matter _how_ much we might want to." He ruffled the top of Gus's head with his hand as he added on a more hopeful note, "But I'll be here for a few more days, and I promise I'll be back soon for Christmas. And you can come back to Britin in the summer and spend a lot of time with me then. We'll go horseback riding and fishing and anything else you want to do, okay?" Brian swallowed the lump in his throat; at the time Gus had been born, he never in his wildest dreams would have imagined that his 'guest appearance,' as Justin had dubbed it, would turn into a lifetime, recurring role with this little boy who had firmly stolen his heart but it had.

"Will Justin be here for Christmas, too, Daddy?" Gus asked, struggling now to keep his eyes open as he lay there staring up intently into his father's eyes.

Brian smiled at his son, so thankful that he loved Justin just as much as he did. "I hope so, Sonny Boy. I'm going to do my best to make sure that he is." Actually, he and Justin hadn't really discussed that yet, but he was planning on broaching the subject while they were together this weekend. He knew Justin was much more sentimental about Christmas than he was and would probably want to spend at least some time with his family, but he also knew he would be extremely disappointed if they couldn't be together for Christmas as well. For the first time, he found himself actually wanting to celebrate the holiday with the man he loved and the son that meant so much to him. Perhaps they could find a way to do both hopefully. "Now you get some sleep, okay? And we'll talk to Justin about it tomorrow; don't' worry – it will all work out." He finally disentangled himself gently from his son before climbing over the lip of the hard, black-colored bed shaped to resemble an Indy-500 racecar and rose to his feet, feeling the stiffness in his back from having to sit so long in such a cramped space.

Gus yawned again as he nodded. He reached his hands up toward Brian, who leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead before he wrapped his arms around the small body to give him a brief hug; he felt Gus's arms slide around his neck and nuzzle his face against his cheek. He grunted softly as he let go to gaze into the vivid brown eyes, his own eyes misting over with tears. "I'll see you in the morning," he said reassuringly. He gave his son a smile as he added, "Good night, Gus."

Before he had a chance leave entirely, however, Gus had one more thought. "Daddy?"

From his place near the door, Brian turned to look at him as he noticed Tricky raise his head out of the corner of his eye to look over at him curiously. _Damn dog didn't miss a thing…_ "Yeah, Sonny Boy?" He held his hand out palm down toward the dog in a silent warning for the beast to remain where he was, afraid that he would take his imminent departure as an invitation to join him downstairs. He had plans to be alone with a blond, all right, but it definitely didn't include THIS blond.

"I love you."

Brian's heart melted as he found himself saying back to his son, "I love you, too, Gus." He gave his son another reassuring smile before he flipped the light switch to bathe the room in semi-darkness; only the light from a soft-white night light plugged into the far wall and the light coming in from the hallway illuminated the room as Brian softly added, "Sweet dreams, Buddy," before he turned and proceeded down the hallway. He didn't want to reveal to his son just how much those three words had affected him; he marveled at how easily they flowed from his son's lips and he was amazed at how much they meant to him. Sighing a little at the reality of it all, he glanced behind him as he walked toward the steps to make sure he wasn't being followed before, relieved, he began to descend to the main level.

He softly tread down the short hallway toward the living room, finding Justin with his back to him tucking in a sheet around the couch cushions; a couple of pillows were arranged at one side of the couch while two thick blankets lay neatly on top of the recliner nearby. He was happy to discover that Justin had thrown some wood into the Munchers' fireplace and had started a fire to warm up the space, because an internal fire of his own had started the moment he had laid eyes on his beautiful partner earlier. He stood there secretly admiring the litheness of Justin's body, presently clad only in a pair of light gray briefs as his desire for his partner flared even higher. His cock obediently twitched in response as he anticipated removing the last vestige of Justin's clothing in short order and promptly fucking his brains out to make up for lost time as he softly crept closer and closer to his target…

"Fuck, Brian!" Justin cried out a few seconds later as Brian wrapped his hands around his body, pinning the blond's arms to his sides. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Brian chuckled softly as he began to nuzzle the warm, pale skin of Justin's neck and shoulders, his hands slowly stroking his partner's smooth, flat belly; he heard an appreciative gasp erupt from the lips of his lover in reaction. "I'm glad you didn't waste time getting undressed," he whispered sexily in Justin's ear, his breath a soft whisper on his partner's skin. "Because I'm horny as hell and you're the only one that can take care of that problem."

Despite the warmth radiating throughout the room mainly due to the fire blazing nearby, he felt Justin shiver slightly in response to his words as he turned him in his arms to stare into the blue eyes presently flecked with shades of red and gold from the flames. "Fuck, I've missed you," he told his partner fervently before he lifted his hands to cup both sides of Justin's face and smashed his lips promptly against his. He heard a soft moan escape Justin's lips as he swiped them urgently with his tongue, demanding entrance as he thankfully received a quick response and his mouth parted for him to gain access. Justin's hands wound around Brian's back as Brian's slid his own around his partner's neck to lock them behind his head. Determination to make up for being apart for far too long made them quickly deepen the kiss, their soft moans the only other sound heard besides the occasional crackle of the flames.

"Justin…" Brian breathed out almost as a prayer as they finally broke apart, the desire rising in him to an almost unbearable level; he kept his eyes locked on his lover's as he immediately began to unbutton his shirt in a frantic effort to get it off as soon as possible. His heart raced as he felt Justin's hands obligingly curl around the waist of his jeans before he quickly unbuttoned the fly and began to urgently unzip them.

"I've been wanting to fuck you from the first second I saw you today," Brian growled deep in his throat as he took the lower part of Justin's earlobe and bit down hard as his partner cried out in part pain, part pleasure. "Shit, Justin, get those damn briefs off," he demanded as he took his own pants and briefs and yanked them down his legs roughly, toeing his shoes and socks off before he quickly pulled the rest of his clothes off in record time. By the time he had accomplished that goal, Justin was completely nude, also, his skin glowing in the firelight flickering around the room as he intently gazed into Brian's eyes.

Justin didn't take time to worry about their lack of privacy – he was far too hard and aroused by now to stop – as he took hold of Brian's upper arms and urgently pulled him toward the couch; he tugged on him as they fell together in a heap, Brian's body stretched out over his on the sheeted cushions. The coolness of the cotton underneath contrasted markedly with the heat coursing through Justin's body produced by the looks and touches Brian was giving him; as soon as they collapsed on the couch together, his hands seemed to be everywhere at once as they proceeded to kiss each other deeply, their bodies rutting against each other in anticipation of what they needed – what they _had_ to have and had been without for far too long.

"Brian… God!" Justin cried out as they finally broke apart and he gasped for air; his partner promptly latched onto one hardened nipple and gave it a tug with his teeth just to continue tormenting him. "Please… No more; Shit, fuck me! Arrrrghhh!" he cried out almost incoherently, oblivious to whether they could be heard upstairs or not; there was no way he could possibly be quiet when this sexy, gorgeous god of a man was rocking against him sensually, teasing him, leaving no doubt where their escapade was going to quickly end up. "Stop that," Justin struggled to say as he fought to catch his breath; Brian continued to lick, suck, and nip at every inch of his skin he could reach as one skilled hand snaked between them and curled around his painfully hard cock to give it a squeeze and his thumb flicked over his slit.

"Stop teasing me, you asshole!" Justin snarled, unable to take it anymore. "Fuck me, damn it!" He took hold of Brian's head and smashed their lips together once more as he snaked his tongue inside, leaving no doubt that he was ready to take things further.

Brian's pulse raced at the sensations Justin was engendering in him; no one else had ever made him feel this aroused, no one else had managed to stake a place so deep in his heart. As they broke apart from their kiss, he took a moment to gaze deeply into Justin's eyes, marveling at the beauty of the face before him framed by the firelight, before he simply nodded, overcome briefly with the realization that he was once more back with the man he loved so deeply. He reached down on the floor to locate his pants and dug through the pocket to produce a small container of lube; he ripped the tip off with his teeth and quickly squirted a generous amount onto his hand as he reached down and smoothed some over his cock and around Justin's pucker, hearing his lover hiss slightly at the coldness.

"I need you, hurry," Justin whispered urgently as Brian nodded; he completely understood that feeling, because his own body was crying out for a release that only Justin could provide for him.

As Justin took his legs and linked them tightly behind Brian's back, his lover replied, "Not as much as I need _you_," before he lined himself up with one hand and slowly inched into the tight channel; Justin groaned at the sensation, partly out of discomfort but mainly out of long-awaited yearning, as he placed his right hand on Brian's thigh in a silent request for his partner to go deeper. "So good," Brian murmured as he pushed in even more. "Fuck… So damn good." He locked gazes on his lover's face as Justin nodded slightly before he thrust in all the way now, hip to hip, flesh to flesh. They no longer needed any other lovers, just the two of them; they had long surpassed the idea that any other man could equal what they had so they simply didn't bother anymore. Phone and webcam sex during their times apart weren't nearly as satisfying as being together physically, but it sufficed until they could be together again. Their time apart always made the reunion that much stronger, that much sweeter, and that much more passionate. This time wouldn't be any different as they began to rock together, thrust and parry, in and out in a well-honed dance of love and sensuality.

Brian's movements were so urgent, so forcefully impatient, that Justin eventually found himself imprisoned at the end of the couch with his back up against the arm, providing Brian with just the right angle to ram into him even more forcefully and hit his sweet spot each time as he lay there firmly encased between the rolled, unforgiving fabric of the couch and Brian's lean, hard body. He held onto his partner's muscled biceps, the skin slick with sweat, as the two of them continued to fuck unabated for the next several minutes, Brian's grunts and Justin's moans of pleasure timed perfectly with each thrust of his body.

* * *

><p>From the dimness of their master bedroom upstairs, Mel rolled her eyes. "He didn't waste any time," she ranted. "God, could they be any louder? I'm going to go close Gus's door before he hears what's going on. He's so curious about everything, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets out of bed and goes to investigate for himself. This is unbelievable but so typical of him; how fucking inconsiderate!" she continued to complain. "I'm a little surprised at Justin, though; I thought he had better manners."<p>

Lindsay sighed. "Come on, Mel! They haven't seen each other in a couple of weeks and whether you choose to believe it or not, they're in love! It's not _Brian's_ fault that they got caught in an ice storm and couldn't check into their hotel tonight. I'm sure they both would have preferred that over sleeping on the couch."

"Well, heaven forbid if the Great Brian Kinney should control his libido for just one night!" her partner continued to grouse.

Lindsay smiled; when did her partner get to be such a fuddy-duddy? "Mel, cut them some slack, okay? This is _Justin_ we're talking about…Not some trick. Come on… Remember what it was like when we first became a couple? We couldn't keep our hands off each other, either."

Mel huffed out an exasperated breath as she rose from their bed and grabbed her mint-green, terry cloth robe. Tying it rather haphazardly around her waist, she shook her head. "They didn't meet just last month, Lindsay; it's been _years _now! Brian should be able to control himself a little better around his own son!" She sighed in disgust as she walked toward the door and turned to the right toward Gus's room.

Lindsay sighed as Mel disappeared from sight, wondering where their own spontaneity had gone and secretly envying the strong, passionate love that Brian and Justin still obviously had for each other.

* * *

><p>Mel quietly crept over to their son's room, deciding to enter and check on Gus to make sure he was asleep and hadn't been disturbed by the racket continuing to go on from the floor below them; from the sound of things downstairs, Brian and Justin were continuing to lustily enjoy their 'after-dinner activities.'<p>

"Men," she muttered as she walked over to her son's bedside; her features softened as she noticed her son's peaceful-looking face as he slept, his brown hair tousled on the pillow as he lay on his back. He was softly breathing out of his nose as he clutched his favorite toy, a smaller, stuffed replica of a yellow lab resembling Tricky that they had bought him oddly enough before the real version actually came to live with them; it was almost as if fate had intervened to provide him with his most dreamed-of wish.

Speaking of which, Tricky himself was lying lengthwise across the foot of the bed in his normal spot; the dog raised his head and briefly thumped his tail against the mattress as Mel looked at him and shook her head in amused resignation. She thought briefly of telling the dog to get off the bed and go sleep on the rug, but she knew it was a losing battle. Gus would be upset if she made the dog leave the room, and if she left him on the rug, he would be right back up on the bed in no time as soon as she was gone. _Someone ELSE doesn't follow rules very well, either_, she thought as she sighed and placed the covers back on her son, who had partially kicked them aside. She leaned down and softly kissed Gus's cheek before turning to head back to the door, leaving it slightly ajar in case the child happened to wake up in the middle of the night and needed a drink or something else from them. Their son had gotten used to sleeping by himself now, but he still occasionally needed the reassurance that his moms were nearby just in case if he should have a nightmare or if there was a thunderstorm. She _was _grateful for Tricky in that regard, because not only did he provide companionship for Gus, but he also made him sleep better at night; since they had gotten him, Gus seldom felt afraid anymore by himself and normally slept through the night now.

As she left her son's room a minute later, she could tell the activity downstairs was heading toward a tumultuous climax as she rolled her eyes. It didn't take an eyewitness to know that both men were enjoying their 'reunion' immensely as, finally, with a loud cry from Justin and a corresponding groan from Brian, the two lovers finally quieted down. "Well, the first fuck's apparently over," Mel grumbled to herself as she headed back toward her and Lindsay's bedroom. "I wonder how long it'll be before the next round?" Shaking her head once more, she turned to re-enter the bedroom, wondering if she should close her OWN door.

* * *

><p>The sounds of the fire's embers crackling nearby muffled the still irregular breaths of the two lovers as Brian lay draped over Justin's smaller frame, his arms wrapped around his partner's torso as he slowly stroked the warm, smooth flesh under his touch. He knew he would have to move soon due to his larger weight, but he just couldn't make himself move just yet; he was enjoying the feeling of his lover trapped beneath him far too much, and the feel of Justin's hands languidly stroking his own back. It was as if neither wanted to let go but rather melded into one form instead as they lay there in the after-throes of their passion, waiting for their breathing to return to a semblance of normalcy.<p>

He raised his head slowly to stare into the sweat-soaked face of his lover, Justin's eyes heavy-lidded with tiredness as he smiled up at him in apology. He couldn't help smiling at him softly in return as he whispered, "Long day?"

Justin nodded drowsily, feeling perfectly content to keep his nice, warm blanket draped over him for the rest of the night, but knowing that wasn't very practical. "Yeah… But I loved the ending," he whispered back as Brian nodded at him and leaned in to steal one more kiss.

"Yeah… This was my favorite part of the day, too," he murmured as he nuzzled the side of Justin's neck, gratified to hear a sigh of pleasure escape from his perfect lips. "I'm going to go get something to clean us up before you fall asleep on me, Sunshine."

"Mmm…" was the half-coherent reply as Brian gently disentangled himself from his lover and walked back down the hallway in search of the half-bathroom he had seen Gus use earlier. Wetting a hand towel with warm water, he returned to find Justin still lying on his back, his eyes closed in apparent sleep. He smirked at how quickly his lover could succumb to dreamland, stopping momentarily to admire the beauty of the man lying so still beneath him before he sat down on the edge of the couch and began to gently clean him up; noticing Justin barely moving as he began his ministrations. _How does he do that_? he wondered, not for the first time as he finished up his chore and dropped the towel onto the floor. He noticed that for someone so slender, Justin seemed to have figured out a way to occupy most of the couch's space; he licked his lips as his gaze slowly traveled from his lover's arms held above his head to the pale legs spread slightly apart, almost in invitation for them to begin Round Two. He would have been more than happy to oblige, but he also knew how tired his partner was; they weren't in the most optimal of situations to continue their lovemaking, and there would be time at the hotel later tomorrow to more than make up for lost time. Sighing in suppressed longing, he whispered, "Uh… Justin?"

"Hmmm….?"

Brian smiled in amusement; at least he wasn't totally dead to the world, not yet anyway. "We're going to have to sleep on our sides; there isn't room enough for us to lie on our backs on this contraption. Do you hear me, Sunshine?"

"Hmmm…"

Brian chuckled softly and shook his head; it appeared he wasn't going to get much help from his partner. Deciding it was easier to just climb over his slumbering form than try and get him to cooperate, he managed somehow to succeed in his attempt as he turned on his side with his back to the couch, pulling Justin up so they were finally facing each other; as least there was a little more navigating room this way. He slid one arm around Justin as his partner snuggled into his side and placed his head against Brian's chest. "I don't think this is bad at all," Justin murmured with a contented sigh as Brian reached over to the nearby recliner to grab one of the blankets. Covering both of them with the throw, he reached underneath to wrap his other arm more tightly around Justin's waist, pulling him even closer. It was merely an attempt to keep him from falling off the couch, mind you; at least that was the excuse he was using silently. Deep down, though, he knew the real reason and so did Justin.

He heard a soft sigh once more as Justin whispered, "I love you."

Brian gazed down into the peaceful face of his partner and couldn't help leaning down to lightly kiss each closed eyelid as Justin's mouth turned upward into a smile. "I love you, too, you twat," Brian found himself whispering back before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Two Hours Later<em>

Justin slowly stroked his cock in his sleep, a soft smile on his face as he dreamed a particularly delicious dream about him and Brian lying tangled together on the wet sand of a white-sugar, deserted tropical beach, a la _From Here to Eternity_ style as they kissed deeply and the waves gently lapped against their bodies. The dream was so real he could actually smell the saltiness of the ocean, hear the seagulls crying overhead and hear the soft crashing of the waves surrounding them. As they made love, the two of them were oblivious to the tide slowly encroaching more and more upon the beach; they were too intent on their own pleasure to notice. He could hear Brian's soft moans of arousal as he reached down to squeeze Brian's rock-hard cock through the wet swim trunks that were molded like a second skin to his muscular, lean body…

"Wha…..?" His wonderful dream was promptly shattered as he fell hard, back-down, onto an unforgiving surface beneath him and his eyes flew open in surprise. This wasn't a soft, cushioned sandy beach on a deserted tropical island; as he glanced around his unfamiliar surroundings, he realized after a few seconds that it was far from it. Oh, Brian was here all right; he hadn't dreamed that up at least. But as he gazed over at the dying embers of what used to be a roaring fire and felt a chill descending upon his nude body, he sighed as he understood finally where they were and he sat up to rub his tender ass where he had fallen. He could hear Brian softly snoring a few feet away on the couch; he realized that at some point his partner has turned over onto his back as he normally liked to do when he slept and had promptly pushed him off the narrow couch as a result.

"Shit, Brian!" he groused, but his partner was snoring away in slumber, completely unaware he had thrown his lover off the couch. _That's gratitude for you_, Justin thought with a scowl. _You get the fuck, I get the shaft…and not a good one at that._ He rolled his eyes as he stood up and sighed before retrieving his briefs that Brian had so promptly discarded earlier onto the floor; without Brian's body heat he was going to need whatever cover he could find. Fortunately, there was the other extra blanket he had brought down from upstairs.

Walking over to the recliner located a few feet away, he picked the extra blanket up along with an extra pillow and sat down, pulling the lever located on the side of the chair to flip the footrest up. Covering himself with the blanket and wishing he had Brian's arms around him instead, he slowly began to drift back off to sleep, hoping at least that his previous dream would return to him.

* * *

><p><em>Fifteen Minutes Later<em>

Tricky's stomach growled softly as he woke up from his latest dream of chasing a stick into the lake and retrieving it after Gus had thrown it for him. His master and the two women took him for walks frequently down to the nearby park and allowed him to frolic near the bank of the wide body of water. He _loved_ to play in the water; he didn't have webbed feet for nothing! He enjoyed not only retrieving sticks that Gus found for him at the water's edge, but he also relished chasing the Canadian geese and ducks that frequented the water. Of course, he never managed to actually catch one, but he sure had fun trying.

He slowly raised his head from the foot of Gus's bed, realizing that his master was still asleep, before he slowly rose from the bed and lumbered over to the edge to jump down onto the hard wooden floor. He softly padded over to the door and sniffed, sensing something different in the house but not quite sure what it was. He nudged the door open with his nose as he began to slowly lope down the hallway; the only sound presently heard nearby was the tick-tick-tick of the large, tall, wooden grandfather clock located at the end of the hallway near the stairs.

He turned to the left and began to walk down the steps, his toenails clicking softly as he went. In no time he had descended the remainder of the stairs and arrived at the first floor. Raising his head slightly, he sniffed again. There was that smell again; it wasn't a bad smell, just a different one. Curious, he walked toward the scent, arriving in the living room to observe the same two men as before sleeping on the couch and the recliner. His ears perked up slightly as he recognized the dark, handsome man from earlier, the one his master seemed so happy to see.

Loping over to the prone form, he stared up into the bronze face, still and quiet. Yearning to get better acquainted through one of the only ways he knew how, Tricky stuck his tongue out and began to lick the man's chest in earnest, deciding he liked the salty taste as he continued a regular up and down motion with the flat of his tongue.

Brian moaned softly at the wonderful sensation as he murmured sleepily, "Not now, Justin…. Didn't you get enough earlier? You can blow me later." His partner seemed to disregard his request, however, because he continued to lick his chest quite vigorously now. Brian felt his dick begin to twitch; Justin could be a demanding little twat when he was horny, so who we he to turn down such talent?

His eyes still closed, he reached down to pat the top of Justin's head in mute encouragement, thinking his hair felt a little coarser than normal, when he heard his partner's voice coming from a few feet away in what sounded suspiciously like a giggle.

"Better look again, Stud; that's not _me_," Justin said from his place on the recliner; he had heard toenails clicking down the hallway a few seconds earlier and had slowly opened his eyes, just in time to see Tricky come waltzing up next to Brian and hesitate for a couple of seconds before he began to lick his partner's chest enthusiastically as he wagged his tail – and his entire body- in perfect synchrony with the tongue washing. "Should I leave you two alone?"

"What the fuck?" Brian cried out as he promptly sat up on the couch; he rubbed his hands over his face in an effort to wake up. As his situation became clear, he glared down at Tricky; now that the dog had gotten Brian's attention, he was wagging his tail even harder. Brian shook his head in exasperation as he pushed the dog back away from him and placed his hand on the dog's body in an effort to keep him from continuing his tongue-bathing. "I thought he slept with Gus at night," he groused as he looked over at Justin in the fading firelight. The room was illuminated just enough to make out his partner's look of extreme amusement on his face.

"Apparently you were too hard to resist," Justin said with a soft chortle. "Man or canine, doesn't seem to matter."

"Fuck you," Brian growled as Justin continued to smile sweetly at him. He turned his attention back to the perpetrator. "Listen, fur face; you are NOT sleeping down here with me, capiche? I've gotten TWO hours' sleep in the last twenty-four hours, so you better find _another_ sleeping companion! Now fuck off!"

"Brian," Justin admonished him. "Be nice. He's just trying to be friends." Tricky seemed to notice the friendlier tone of Justin's voice as he loped over to the blond and stared up at him with his luminous brown eyes. Justin couldn't help smiling as he reached down and rubbed the top of the dog's head. "He's not really a big, bad bully, Tricky," he told the dog soothingly as he rubbed the canine's ears. "He just gets grouchy when he doesn't fulfill his fuck quota." Justin looked over at Brian and smiled even wider as Brian stared daggers back at him. "His bark's a lot worse than his bite."

Tricky seemed to almost understand as he sat down and promptly stuck his paw up for Justin to shake it; the blond laughed softly as he said apologetically, "Sorry, boy; I don't have any treats for you. Go find Gus; it's still time for us to be sleeping." The dog stared at him for several seconds, whining softly, before he realized he wasn't going to get any more attention and slowly turned to trot a little dejectedly back down the hallway for parts unknown as Brian sighed in relief until he realized something.

"What the fuck are you doing over _there_ anyway? Afraid I was going to stick my dick up your ass while you were asleep?" he snickered.

Justin huffed out, "No… More like _someone_ pushed me off the couch earlier and I was defending myself!"

"I didn't do that!"

"You most certainly did! And right on my ass I might add!"

"Now I KNOW I didn't do it," Brian maintained with a smirk. "I _protect_ my investments. Now come back over here and I'll pay YOU a dividend."

Despite his cock beginning to pay attention to that intriguing possibility, Justin snorted. "Uh, uh… I need some sleep and NOT while on the floor! I know _another_ blond who'd be interested, though."

"Forget it," Brian growled. "Variety is the spice of life, but I draw the line at bestiality."

"Oh, for the love of… Just go back to bed, okay?"

"Fine… But good old Tricky won't be the _only_ one begging for a treat tomorrow." Brian promptly turned onto his side, his face toward the back of the couch as he yanked the blanket back over his quickly-cooling body.

"Oh, my God," Justin deadpanned as Brian lay there motionless. "Fine with me! We'll just see who's the first one to roll over tomorrow."

Brian couldn't help grinning as he continued to ignore his lover over on the recliner. He knew both of them would more than make up for their 'logistical problems' tomorrow. Once he and Justin were checked into their luxury hotel, he planned on holding someone's perky little bubble butt hostage for the next twenty-four hours. _"_Have it your way, then, Drama Princess," he called out to Justin as he heard an indignant huff from a few feet away. He chuckled lightly as he closed his eyes to drift back off to sleep.

Justin tucked his blanket closer around his body, silently craving Brian's arms around him again but having a sneaking suspicion that if he tried to return to his previous position he would wind up on the floor again later. Sighing, he finally fluffed up his pillow briefly before placing it back down near the top of the recliner and, turning on his side away from Brian but facing the diminishing fire, he watched the flames flickering in the glow of the fireplace for several seconds until his eyes, heavy with exhaustion, slowly closed and he once more fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Chapter End Notes:<p>

_Thanks to my friend, boriqua522, for looking over this chapter for me. If you get a chance, go and check out her WIP, "Love Lies Bleeding," BTW - it's very intriguing. Oh, and for all those skeptics about whether I could just write two chapters, you were right! LOL! There will be at least one more chapter to this one. I hope to have it posted shortly. Thanks to everyone who is reading this and especially those that are reviewing - I cherish all of you.:)_


	3. So Do You Want to Play With My Ball?

_The adventures of Tricky the Tormenter continue! Meanwhile, the boys discover a reason to thank Lindsay for her "Lazy Boy." (wink, wink)._

* * *

><p><em>Fifteen Minutes Later<em>

The odd sounds of something crunching seeped into Brian's brain as he slowly rose back into drowsy consciousness, frowning. _What the hell - mice? _ The crunching noise went on for several seconds until finally it stopped, only to be replaced by the unmistakable sound of someone - or in this case, _some THING - _slurping up water from a water bowl. A _dog's_ water bowl. The drinking seemed to go on forever and forever; did the dog have a bucket in there? "Oh, for fuck's sake!" he growled finally as he gave up and swung his legs around to sit up on the couch in disgust, somehow knowing that sleep was going to be a distant memory. "What is this dog's _problem_? I thought only cats were nocturnal."

Justin chuckled softly at Brian's frustration from his place on the recliner nearby; he hadn't quite gotten back to sleep yet since Tricky's last appearance. "I think it's a canine version of raiding the refrigerator. You told him to go," he pointed out helpfully, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"But I didn't tell him to do _that_!" He sighed heavily as he looked over at his partner in the waning firelight. "You think the roads have improved enough to go back to the hotel now?"

"Brian," Justin chided him. "It's just one night, and you know how much Gus is looking forward to us being here for Thanksgiving dinner. Is it worth risking our necks to go back to the hotel _now_? We'll have the rest of the weekend."

Brian folded his tanned arms across his chest in aggravation, almost pouting like a child who was being deprived of his favorite toy; well, actually, he _was_ being deprived of his favorite toy - _Justin_. The man was even refusing to share the couch with him. "This...is the night...from_ Hell," _he decided. "And speak of the devil - here comes Cujo now..."

Sure enough, Tricky came trotting back into the living room, no doubt hearing voices and realizing that the alpha male of the house was awake again. Brian groaned as the dog came rushing up to him, his entire body rocking back and forth enthusiastically as his long tail wagged furiously, a tennis ball clutched in his mouth. He opened his jaws and plopped the slime-coated ball down on the couch right next to Brian's waist as he looked up at him expectantly.

Justin laughed softly, not wanting to wake up the other occupants upstairs. "Oh, look, Brian! You've taught him a new trick; he wants you to play with his balls...Uh, I mean, _ball_. See...You have something in common already."

Even in the waning firelight, Brian didn't have any trouble seeing Justin's beaming smile - his white teeth were like a lighthouse beacon in a roiling ocean storm. Someone was enjoying his disconcertment way too much for his liking. "Very funny, Taylor," he snarled as he glared over at his partner. "Let's see how much YOU get to play with my ball this weekend." He was still a little touchy about the fact that he DID only have 'one ball' - at least one REAL ball - but he also knew that Justin realized he was the only one that could get away with that kind of statement. That actually made him even more perturbed that Justin knew him that well. _Damn smug little shit...  
><em>

He turned his attention back to Tricky, who was impatiently waiting for him to throw his tennis ball as he thumped his tail in anticipation. Brian shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You have got to be kidding," he told the dog in disbelief as Tricky raised one paw and placed it on the edge of the couch as he stared at him with his big, round, chocolate-colored eyes. Brian scrunched up his nose in distaste as he tentatively reached out and curled his hand lightly around the lime-green tennis ball; Tricky started to walk a few steps away and then looked back eagerly, assuming that Brian was ready to finally throw it for him, but to his disappointment his idol promptly dropped it back down on the couch and wiped the phlegm off his hand with the blanket that was bunched up around his waist. "Shit, dog! That has drool all over it! It's disgusting!"

"Brian...He's not going to away until you throw the damn thing."

"Yeah, and you know what's going to happen when I throw it? He'll be just like every other trick I've had - he'll keep bringing his _balls_ back, wanting more and more. And I'll do exactly what I do with THEM - I'll tell him to _get lost_." He stared down at the dog as he said the last two words, hoping he would get the message, but Tricky seemed oblivious to his scolding as he let out a small yip of impatience. _What part of throw and fetch did this human not understand?_

"You'd better NOT be playing with someone else's balls, Brian Kinney," Justin warned him from his place over in the recliner. It wasn't the easiest thing for them to do, especially Brian - he had to admit - but ever since they had been fucking raw for the last few months, that had _also _meant both of them having to commit exclusively to each other. "You'd better be speaking in the past tense."

Brian sighed as he looked over at Justin and rolled his eyes in disbelief; did Justin really think he would renege on that kind of agreement? "Don't worry, Sunshine...You're the only one who's allowed in my playground now." He smiled over at Justin reassuringly as he received a relieved smile in response. Yes, it was the hardest thing he thought he had ever done - showing restraint around some of the hot guys who still constantly hit on him whenever he was out in public - whether it was at Kinnetik, Woody's, the steam room at the fitness club, a restaurant, or at Babylon when he occasionally made an appearance there. But the times when he could be with Justin and they could fuck unobstructed more than made up for the sexual frustration in between. That and the frequent webcam visits they utilized. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the real thing with his partner, but it still beat temporarily getting off with some unknown, one-time trick until they could be together again.

Another short, under-the-breath bark from his newest 'fan' made Brian turn his attention back to his visitor. He sighed. "Can't you be a good little beast and go play out in the street for a while?" he beseeched the pooch, who merely cocked his head to the side as if he were actually understanding him. Brian began to smile, though, as another idea occurred to him. Brushing the blanket aside, he stood up and reached for the tennis ball as Tricky began to bounce slightly up and down on his feet in triumph..

"What are you doing?" Justin asked curiously, amazed that Brian actually was willing to play with Tricky. "You're just going to encourage him to keep bringing it back. Trust me; I know these kinds of dogs. They don't call them _retrievers_ for nothing."

"Well, let's see how he retrieves _this_," Brian said as he began to walk out of the living room toward the hallway. Tricky trotted along closely at his heels, jumping up and down on his paws eagerly as he tried to reach for his ball.

"Uh, uh, uh," Justin heard Brian say as he disappeared into the hallway. "Hold on a second, Cujo." A few moments later, he heard a door opening just before Brian said in a loud whisper, "Fetch! Go get it, Tricky! Go get the ball, boy! Run! It's getting away! Fetch, Tricky, fetch! Retrieve!" Justin frowned as he heard a loud huff of disgust then, followed by, "What kind of retriever are _you_? You big fucker!"

"Brian?"

A few seconds, Justin watched as Tricky came happily bounding up to him with the ball in his mouth; he dropped it in Justin's lap and sat down next to him on the floor, raising his left paw and placing it on Justin's leg as he gazed up at him intently. Justin watched as Brian came stomping back into the room and plopped down heavily onto the couch, sitting there with a scowl on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared over at Tricky.

Justin looked from the dog over to his partner in puzzlement. "What happened to your plan?"

"Well, my _plan_ assumed that this dog has some common sense! I opened up the basement door and threw the ball down the steps for him to chase it, but Cujo just stood there and looked at me like he was on to me...Kind of like the same looks _you_ give me all the time."

Justin snorted in amusement. "Please - I'd rather you not compare me to a dog, okay?" He reached down and stroked the top of Tricky's hair as he smiled down at him. "It's okay, Tricky - nothing personal," he murmured as he squeezed the dog's paw before gently placing it back down on the floor. He took the ball and lofted it gently into the air, watching in delight as the dog caught it in mid-air. A sudden thought occurred to him as he asked, "If you threw the ball down the steps and he didn't go after it, then how did he get it back?"

Brian glared down at his antagonist. "Apparently he has a ready supply; Mr. Wise Guy here just trotted over to a corner of the kitchen and came back with _another_ one in his mouth. He's very sneaky and persistent - just like you are."

"Excuse me? What did I just tell you about not comparing me to a dog?"

"Well, you're both blond, you both adore me, you both like to play with balls and I'd wager a guess he likes to play with rubber toys, too. Sounds like a perfect match to _me_."

"Ha, ha," Justin retorted. "Don't blame _me_ if blonds find you irresistible." He peered down into Tricky's face in an impromptu stare-down contest, knowing somehow he would come out the loser when the dog continued to gaze uncaring up at him. Sighing, he told Brian, "Let's just try to go back to bed and ignore him; he'll take the hint and go back upstairs."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Sure...Just like he did the _last_ time." He huffed in aggravation as he stood back up; he really needed to get some sleep. "Looks like I'll have to try Plan B, then."

Justin's brows lifted as he watched Brian stand back up and wrap the blanket around his lean body. "Getting awful modest around Tricky, aren't you? Are you inviting him to sleep with you on the couch now, since I refused to cooperate? What makes you think he'll fit any better on there than _I _did?" He looked over at Tricky to warn, "Don't do it, Tricky; not unless you want to wind up playing dead for real on the floor later."

"Not on your life," Brian growled at the dog. "Don't even think about it, Cujo." He leaned down and patted his leg a couple times as he stared over at Tricky with a plastic smile on his face. "Come on, Boy!" he whispered excitedly. "Come here!" To his satisfaction, the dog immediately walked over to him and placed the ball down on the floor next to him.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Not that," he muttered as he picked up the ball and held it back out toward the dog with two fingers as he turned up his nose in dismay. "Shit, Dog! How much saliva do you _have _stored up in there?" The dog immediately took the ball back as Brian turned and began to walk toward the hallway again, wiping the drool off on his blanket. A few seconds later, Justin heard man and beast slowly walking up the steps to the second floor, followed by the creaking of the floor overhead. _What was Brian up to now_?

He sat there, his upper body propped up by his elbows, until finally after a couple of minutes he heard footsteps on the stairs again, followed by someone walking back down the hallway toward him. He watched as Brian reappeared this time, alone, as his partner threw the blanket down on the couch and sighed in relief. "Finally!" he exclaimed as he sat back down and looked over at Justin with a triumphant look on his face.

Justin frowned. "Brian...What did you do to him? You didn't make him go outside after all, did you? It's got to be freezing out there!"

Brian looked at him aghast. "Come on, Justin! Did you hear me open the door anywhere? He's a little chunky to fit through the upstairs window. Give me a little credit!"

Justin narrowed his eyes. "Then where did you put him? He wouldn't have stayed up there voluntarily...not after he's had a taste of _Brian Kinney_."

Brian curled his lips under as he said, "Well, I AM irresistible as you so accurately pointed out. But even _Cujo_ can't break down a closed door." As Justin arched one eyebrow in question, he explained, "I took him back up to Gus's room and encouraged him to join me at the foot of the bed. Faster than you can say _Kibbles 'n Bits_, I was out of there and closed the door behind me before he had a chance to follow me."

Justin grinned. "You think you're so smart, don't you?" He watched as Brian stood up and walked over to him as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively; he could feel his heart pick up a beat as he watched his sexy partner sit down on the edge of the recliner's footrest and straddle his lower legs. He couldn't help lowering his gaze to take in the majesty that was Brian's cock, noticing that he was hard and leaking. "Brian..."

"Yes?" Brian answered innocently as his partner took his hands and began to lightly slowly stroke his thighs, up and down, up and down...He watched with heavily-lidded, lust-filled eyes as Brian reached for his cock through his briefs and gave it a firm squeeze; he couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips at the sensation.

Brian grinned victoriously as he took his thumb and slid it back and forth across the tip of Justin's cock, watching as his lover threw his head back and closed his eyes in pleasure. He twisted his mouth in satisfaction. "Ever had recliner sex before, Sunshine?" he growled huskily. He took his hands then and grasped the waistband of Justin's briefs to pull them down and expose the glistening, aroused cock as he licked his lips in anticipation. "Hmmm...You certainly don't look like a _Lazy Boy _to me."

Justin giggled at the terrible joke, but the laughter died on his lips as Brian leaned his upper body down and promptly latched his lips onto his cock as he began to use his tongue to lap vigorously at the ridged underside. He arched up off the recliner as Brian took his hands and firmly held his lower body down as he continued to teasingly suck, lick, and lightly bite at his dick. "Fuck!" Justin cried out, the sensation overwhelming him as Brian's chuckle against his skin made his partner's lips vibrate around his cock and aroused him even further. It took only a few minutes of his lover's expert ministrations before he came hard down his throat and flopped his upper body onto the back of the recliner, sated and thoroughly spent from his climax.

Brian grinned at his reaction as he scooted up further into the recliner until his own cock was at Justin's mouth. He stared deeply into the darkened eyes of his lover as he gruffly demanded, his voice thick with need, "Suck me, Justin." He supported his upper body with his hands locked on the top of the recliner as he loomed over Justin like some gorgeous, Greek statue, sculpted to perfection.

Justin didn't need to be asked twice as he took his right hand and firmly wrapped it around Brian's cock. He expertly hollowed out his lips as he latched onto his lover's hard shaft, slowly rubbing his thumb around the base's underside as he began to suck and nip at the silky, hard flesh. He took his other hand and cupped Brian's balls lightly to squeeze and stroke them as well as he heard a loud moan of appreciation erupt from Brian's lips.

"Fuck...So good, feels so good," Brian was murmuring over and over again as Justin continued to sensually suck and fondle him. _This_ was why he was able to commit to one man, but not just ANY man. Only Justin could take him to the heights of pleasure that he experienced; only Justin could drive him insane with desire like he was doing right now. Only Justin's kisses would satisfy him and keep him coming back for more. His partner knew every inch of his body to perfection and knew just how to drive him crazy with lust while at the same time capturing his heart for eternity.

He cried out in thunderous bliss as he soon released his load down Justin's limber throat; his chest heaved in and out from the effects as his partner let go of him to raise his head up enough to bring their lips together for a deep kiss, Brian's heart pounding as he tasted himself on his lover's lips. "Shit," Brian whispered against his cheek as they eventually broke apart. "I'm never going to compare you to a dog again."

Justin smacked him on the upper leg as Brian grinned lazily down at him. "Move over," he commanded softly as he raised his body up to free Justin's legs.

"Don't you mean _roll_ _over_?" his lover teased. "After all, you said it was my favorite command."

Brian smirked at him. "Later, Benji." He kissed Justin once more on the lips before his partner scooted over and turned on his side, his eyes gazing up at the older man in the flicker of the firelight.

Brian smiled tenderly at him as he, too, lay down on his side to face his beautiful blond. He took Justin's hand and clasped it to his chest, his heart still fluttering a little erratically from their exertion. "Let's see if we have any better luck this time," he said as he retrieved Justin's blanket bunched up on the floor by the chair and pulled it over the two of them. He couldn't resist one more soft kiss as he pulled back to stare into Justin's eyes. It reminded him a little of when the two of them had lain on the floor of his loft after his injury during the Liberty Ride; he could remember how Justin's eyes had gazed into his so intently, almost like they were rememorizing each other's features after being apart. Little did he know at the time, though, that an even longer separation awaited them in Los Angeles. Those several months that Justin had been away had been one of the hardest periods he had ever endured, and when his partner _had_ returned, they had had some of the hottest sex they had ever had. He had been so fucking glad to see him back; it was almost as bad now whenever Justin had to return to New York, except that their time away from each other didn't stretch out into months. It still made it extremely hard, though, each time they had to say goodbye all over again.

He came out of his melancholy musings as he felt Justin's hand curve around his cheek and he refocused his eyes back on his partner. "You zoned out on me again," Justin softly chided him. "Where _were_ you?"

Brian smiled over at him tenderly as he took Justin's hand clasped in his and brought it up to his lips to kiss the top; his partner's fingers curled around his hand before he placed it once more on his chest. "I'm right here," he assured him lovingly as he leaned over and nudged his forehead with his briefly before pulling back to gaze at his face. "Right where I want to be." He paused for a moment to commit Justin's face to memory - as if he needed to do that, anyway - before he whispered, "Try and get some sleep; I don't think Cujo's done with us yet by a long shot."

Just before he allowed his exhaustion to overtake him, he heard Justin whisper back, "You mean _you_. You're the irresistible one," before he, too, closed his eyes and they drifted asleep, fingers intertwined and legs tangled together.

* * *

><p><em>7:00 a.m.<em>

A sound that resembled thundering hooves overhead jarred Brian awake as Justin stirred in his arms. "Wakeup, Sunshine," he murmured as he leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead. "They're b-a-c-k," he said ominously in a spooky voice as Justin slowly opened his eyes. "Cujo and his master." Brian hated to remove himself from his surprisingly warm cocoon of 'blanket and Justin,' but he knew if the girls came down to him exposed in his 'glory,' he would never hear the end of it, especially from Mel. "Better get dressed," he whispered to his lover as he pulled himself up and off the recliner. He heard a soft sigh of protest as he smiled down at his drowsy companion before turning to hunt up his jeans and quickly slip them on; he had just enough time to toss Justin his own jeans and shirt so he could hurriedly don them before a pair of human and canine feet came rushing up to them.

"Hi, Daddy!" Gus chirped, clad in a matching set of cream-colored pajama bottom and top that featured different breeds of dogs on them. Brian couldn't help smiling at how absorbed his son presently was in the world of canines as he swept the little boy up into his arms to hug him and give him a kiss. Tricky, in the meantime, seemed to have forgiven Brian for his earlier ruse as he bounded up to him, his tail once more wagging hysterically. This time Brian noticed he had a rubber pork chop in his mouth which he began to squeak constantly as he chewed down on it with his incisors.

Brian looked over at Justin, who was now clad in his jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt and had flipped the footrest of the recliner down so he was now sitting up in it. He was a little sleepy-looking and his hair was a disheveled mess, but Brian thought he was as beautiful as ever as he smiled over at him to say smugly, "See? Told you."

Justin twisted his mouth upward in a grin as he shook his head. As Brian put his son back down on the ground, Gus came rushing up to him almost as if he were surprised they were both still there. "Jus'n! We're going to have turkey and pum'kin pie for dinner today!"

Justin laughed. "I know, Buddy! Isn't it great? And your dad and Tricky get to spend some more quality time together, too! It doesn't get any better than that!" he exclaimed melodramatically as Brian glared over at him and mouthed one word back: _Fucker_. Justin grinned back at him as he leaned down to give Brian's son a hug; he pulled back, startled though, as Tricky managed to get in a couple of licks on his face as Brian chuckled in amusement.

"Looks like Tricky wants to get to know _you _better, too, Sunshine," he drawled as Justin blinked in surprise and wiped the saliva off his face with the back of his sleeve. "Justin likes to be licked, by the way," he told the dog as the blond's face flushed in embarrassment once more.

"Good Morning, Boys," a robe-clad Lindsay interrupted them as she walked into the living room; she took in the couch and recliner both strewn with discarded, bunched-up blankets and tried hard to mask her surprise; she would have laid odds that her two friends would have wound up sleeping together - they certainly had been 'together' earlier - but it appeared the couch had wound up being a little too small for both men to handle. "Did you sleep well?"

"You want the polite version or the truth?" Brian quipped as Justin stood up and began to fold the blanket up neatly before walking over to perform the same action with Brian's bedding.

He handed the two blankets to Lindsay as he replied, "Don't pay any attention to him, Lindsay; it was fine. We appreciated you letting us bunk here for the night. How're the roads?"

"Well, I saw a little bit of the weather report on the news just now," she told him as Mel came in carrying a tray with some mugs of coffee and condiments on it. Justin nodded his appreciation at the attorney as he scooped a couple teaspoons of sugar into one and handed it to Brian before fixing his own. "They said it's quit sleeting, but it's supposed to stay pretty cold today - highs only in the 40's; so most of the snow will probably remain in the grassy areas anyway." She went to join Mel on the couch as she inquired, "You know we were assuming you would stay here until at least after dinner. After all, you both have your suitcases with you. There's really no need for the two of you to go check in just yet, is there?"

"Not for what _most_ people need to check in for," Mel uttered under her breath. "And even _that_ didn't stop you last night."

Justin flushed at the knowledge that his and Brian's fucking had obviously been overheard; frankly he had been so caught up in what they were doing he hadn't thought about it. Whenever he and Brian were apart, it was like some sort of sickness they needed to cure immediately when they were reunited again. "I'm sorry," he began apologetically. "We weren't really thinking..."

"I'm not," Brian responded as he walked over and draped his free hand around Justin's shoulders. He pulled him closer to his side and kissed him on the cheek as he said to Mel, "You should try some good, old-fashioned dick some time; might make even _you_ easier to be around."

"Brian!" Lindsay scolded him. "Please! Gus!"

"You're wasting your breath on him, Lindsay," Mel retorted in disgust as she rolled her eyes. The man was insufferable most of the time, and only occasionally tolerable as far as she was concerned. And to think she thought they had reached some sort of truce when she and Lindsay had moved here to Toronto. If it wasn't for the child they shared, and her grudging acknowledgment that Brian really did love Gus in his own odd way, she would have nothing to do with him.

"What, Mommy?" the boy asked from his place on the floor at the sound of his name; he and Tricky were presently playing tug of war with a twisted rope toy that belonged to the dog. Tricky was softly growling playfully as he tried to wrestle the rope away from his master, but Gus was surprisingly strong for a boy his age and was holding his own as he giggled in response at the dog's antics; Tricky's rear end was up in the air, while his head and front paws were close to the floor and he seemed to be enjoying their game tremendously.

"Nothing, Honey," Lindsay reassured him as she stared daggers over at her friend. "Can we tone down the acrimony at least for the holidays? From _both_ of you?" she said as she looked over at Mel.

"Just make sure you keep the carving knife away from me," Mel muttered as Lindsay looked over at her in aggravation. "I wouldn't want it to slip and find its way to his jugular." She sighed as Lindsay stared at her in irritation, her eyes flashing with anger. "Okay, okay," she said with a shrug. "I'll go fix everyone some breakfast." She took a deep breath and pasted on an artificial smile as she turned to Brian and said sweetly, "Brian...Would you like some scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast?"

"Why thank you, Mel; that's so sweet of you; did you lay them fresh this morning?" Brian asked her sarcastically.

Gus giggled from his place on the floor. "That's silly, Daddy; girls don't lay eggs; chickens do."

Mel rolled her eyes as she refused to rise to the bait; her face softened as she turned to look at Justin. "What about you, Justin? Scrambled eggs and bacon okay with you?"

"Scrambled is fine, Mel - thanks," Justin told her with a smile. The woman nodded and, with one last quick glare directed at Brian, she turned and left to go toward the kitchen to start breakfast.

"Brian," Justin chided him after she had left. "Do you have to keep doing that?"

Brian shrugged as he squeezed Justin's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I can't help it, Sunshine. It's better than an Olympic sport."

Justin snorted as he slid his arm around Brian's waist and whispered back, "Try to behave for your son's sake, though, okay? We see him so infrequently."

Brian sighed as if he were deflated by the idea. "Okay...but only for you - and Gus."

Lindsay grinned slightly; Justin always _did_ seem to be the only one who could talk sense into Brian most of the time. "I'll go see if Mel needs any help," she said with a smile. "Gus, make sure Tricky goes out in the backyard to do his business before too long. You know how he is."

"Okay, Mommy," Gus told her as she turned around and walked out of the room.

"What did she mean - _you know how he is_?" Brian asked his child. He dropped his arm to reach for Justin's hand and firmly twined his fingers with his.

"Oh, it's nothing, Daddy. He's not exactly house trained yet."

"What? You mean he shits and pisses in the house - just like..."

"Brian..." Justin squeezed his fingers in a warning to behave.

"I was just comparing him to someone he's familiar with for comparison, that's all."

"He has accidents sometimes," Gus said matter-of-factly, "But he's getting better."

"You mean just like..."

"Brian! Cut it out!" Justin leaned in to whisper in his ear as he tried another tactic, "Be good and I'll be _good_ to you later." He paused for effect before he added a little more sensually, "All...Night...Long..."

Brian looked over at him and smiled as if he were imagining all sorts of delicious things from his partner before he nodded. "Deal. You beat Mel any day."

"Thanks...I think."

Gus finally let go of the rope toy as Tricky held it up triumphantly and pranced around as if it were a duck he'd caught. He walked up to Brian and dropped it as his feet and looked up at Brian expectantly as Justin laughed.

"Just like a cat bringing a dead mouse up to the doorstep as a trophy. No doubt about it - he soooooo loves you." Justin beamed at him playfully, just like he had so long ago when he had said something similar about him while he was being given a ride to art school. Ironically, he had been absolutely right about it at the time; now he fervently wished that the present focus of his attention would find someone _else_ to love...

"Fuck you," Brian growled in his ear. As soon as he looked down at Tricky, the dog promptly thumped his tail up and down against the floor as he raised his paw to shake hands. "Oh, brother," Brian muttered. "Gus, take Big Foot here outside like your mother said before he gets so excited at seeing me he has _another_ accident. He wouldn't be the _first _one."

"Okay, Daddy," Gus said. He patted the top of his leg, just like his father had done last night and said excitedly, "Wanna go out, Tricky? Go outside in the snow? Come on, boy!" Fortunately, Tricky must have liked going outside a little better than Brian, as he promptly trotted off after Gus toward the backdoor. Gus paused just long enough to grab his coat before he opened the door and the two walked out; a cold blast of air blew inside just before he managed to close it behind them.

The two partners were finally alone as Justin let out a sigh and turned to face his lover. He placed his hands around Brian's neck as he advised, "Brian, you're supposed to be more mature than your son."

"Why?" Brian asked, his lips curled under as he smiled down at Justin devilishly. "Bad boys always have more fun."

Justin couldn't help chuckling. "Well, you're not only bad, you're _incorrigible_," he told him.

Brian grinned down at him as he slid his arms around Justin's back. "You better believe it," he growled softly. "And you fucking love it...Just like I love you."

Justin's face lit up in delight at the unexpected declaration just before Brian pulled him closer and they kissed deeply, the rest of the world around them falling away once more as they got lost in their kiss. A clearing of someone's throat several seconds later, however, caused them to break apart as they turned as one to observe Lindsay standing in the doorway.

"Breakfast is ready," she said with a smile of indulgence; she was happy that her long-time friend was so in love. She had waited a long time to see it, and she couldn't think of a better person for him to be in love with than Justin.

"Thanks," Justin told her as she nodded and turned back around to return to the kitchen. He smiled up into Brian's eyes. "Just so you know...last night might have not quite been what we were expecting, but I still think it was great."

"You would," Brian tenderly scolded him. "Twat." He smiled down at his partner before kissing his lips briefly once more and saying, "Come on - let's go eat breakfast before the Mel...uh, everyone _else_ finishes it off first."

Justin grinned as they walked hand in hand out of the living room to join their friends. Perhaps you _could _teach an old dog new tricks...

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><p><em>TBC...Yes, I know - my "two-chapter" story is now three chapters long - LOL! There should be at least one more chapter before I put it to bed (honest!). Thanks for reading - I hope you're enjoying it.:) Thanks to Boriqua522 for checking this chapter over for me.:)<br>_


	4. Yep  It's a Butterball!

_A/N: Tricky continues his pursuit of the alpha male in the house as the gang prepares for Thanksgiving dinner. _

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><p><em>Early Afternoon – Thanksgiving Day<em>

"Justin, you're so sweet to help us out," Lindsay told their guest with a smile as she placed several peeled sweet potatoes down in a bowl on the kitchen table where Justin was sitting.

Justin picked up a potato masher and began to grind the yams around in the bottom of the bowl to mash them up in preparation for a casserole recipe Lindsay wanted to try that had marshmallows and pecans on top. "I'm glad I could help," he told her with a smile of his own. "Besides, I was beginning to feel like a third wheel anyway."

Mel frowned from her spot at the counter next to the stove; she was mixing up a pasta recipe and layering it into a large trifle bowl. "Third wheel?"

Justin grinned as he explained in a stage whisper, "I think Brian and Tricky wanted to be alone, so I gave them some privacy."

Mel snorted. "Justin, you've known Brian long enough and way too well by now to know he doesn't give a flying fuck about _privacy_."

"Mel!" Lindsay scolded her over her language; she was trying hard to avoid using the saltier words around Gus, but she wasn't exactly having a lot of success with her goal. Between both Mel and Brian, Gus probably had learned several new 'colorful' words for his vocabulary just from today's conversations.

Justin rolled his eyes. "It was a joke, Mel." He sighed a little in aggravation; just once it would be nice to have one day where she and his partner weren't going at it like boxers in a prizefighting match.

"Where _are_ Brian and Gus, by the way?" Lindsay asked curiously, realizing she hadn't seen them – or Tricky – in over an hour now.

"Last time I saw them they were out in the backyard," Justin told her. "I think Brian was playing fetch with Tricky hoping to wear him out a little before dinner. It remains to be seen which one will be playing dead first, though; I think Brian's operating mainly on adrenaline at the moment." All told, he reckoned both he and Brian had had maybe three hours' sleep total last night, and the odds were very good that they wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight at the hotel, either. Something told him his partner had something else in mind for their bed, but he wasn't exactly complaining, though. He had missed his gorgeous, sexy lover terribly during their latest time apart. Of course, it was always like that whenever the two of them weren't together, and it led him to wonder sometimes if their long-distance arrangement was the best solution for them. He sighed softly in melancholy, knowing that particular question wouldn't be resolved today.

Just then the father and son – and canine – in question came bursting in from the back door. Tricky promptly marched up to his water bowl and began to drink vigorously from the stainless steel dish for several seconds as the water splashed everywhere; suddenly, he put his paws in the dish itself and began a motion with them as if he were digging a hole, causing the water to fly everywhere as Gus giggled and ducked out of the way. "He's doing it again, Mommy!" he squealed in delight.

"Tricky! Stop that!" Mel scolded the animal as she let out a heavy sigh; Tricky paused long enough to raise his soaked muzzle to peer over at her as if she were crazy – after all, wasn't this what most 'normal' dogs did? – before he resumed his own version of a lopsided, canine sitz bath.

"See….Brian's been here, what? Twenty-four hours? And he's already taught Tricky his bad boy ways."

"Come on, that dog had to bea little fuc_…_uh, dickens before I got here," Brian retorted as he came walking into the kitchen and scowled at the animal in question. "Emphasis on the _dick_ part; Cujo knocked me down out there! Do you know how much that animal weighs? He must weigh more than Justin does."

"There you go again comparing me to a dog," Justin reminded him as he pursed his lips together to try and not laugh out loud. Brian trying to live harmoniously in a household with a dog was just way too entertaining; he couldn't have dreamed up a better comedy routine for the holiday if he had tried. Truth be told, despite all the interruptions they had endured so far, he was having a blast.

Brian sighed as he attempted to turn around and look at the back of his leather jacket. "Is it wet back there?" he asked Justin worriedly.

Mel smirked and responded before Justin could answer him. "We _do_ have a bathroom downstairs, you know. In fact, I'm surprised that you haven't tried it out yet – with Justin."

Justin flushed at the insinuation as Brian rolled his eyes in disgust. "I landed on my _ass_, Mel! I thought even YOU knew the difference between what goes up a man's ass and comes out his cock; you'll never experience that pleasure with me, though – only one man gets that privilege and it's not you – sorry."

Mel huffed out a disgusted breath. "Don't worry, that dick is the _last_ thing I'm interested in." She stood up and wiped her hands off on a nearby kitchen towel looped around one of the cabinet pulls. "You know…If you'd prefer, Brian, the restaurants are open normal hours today; Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving here in October. No doubt the hotel has a restaurant, too. I'm sure there'd be lots of waiters available there that would be more than happy to _service your needs_."

Justin opened his mouth to reply to Mel's rather outrageous suggestion but then closed it, not quite sure how to answer that. He was saved the trouble, though, when Lindsay responded angrily, "Mel, that's enough! I mean it! Brian and Justin are our guests and Gus wants them here and so do I! Can't we just call a truce in the spirit of the holiday and think about what we should be thankful for instead of tearing each other down?" She placed her hands on her hips and turned to her old friend to ask, "Brian?"

Not feeling like he was getting enough attention at the moment, Tricky chose precisely that time to let forth with a loud groan as he slowly slid down to the floor next to where Brian was standing and promptly plopped down on his side, apparently finally petered out after playing with Brian and Gus outside.

All the adults looked over at the dog for a few seconds and couldn't help bursting out laughing at Tricky's well-timed 'political statement.' The tense moment finally broken, Mel sighed as she looked over at Brian and Justin; as much as she hated to admit it, Lindsay was right – this was not the time to embark on yet another fight with Brian – it was a fight neither one would ever win, anyway. "Okay, okay," she grumbled. "I'll try and be _civil_," she bit out distastefully as she peered over at Brian, who smiled at her sweetly. "But he sits at the opposite end of the dinner table tonight."

Brian snorted softly. "I'll drink to that," he stated as he looked around. "Where _do_ you keep the Beam anyway?"

Justin and Lindsay exchanged amused looks. "We have some red wine in the living room in the cabinet next to the bookshelves," she advised her friend as Brian wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You'll have to make do with that for now. And take your shadow with you; he has a habit of being underfoot in here while we're working in the kitchen."

Brian looked over at Justin. "Why? He's just sitting at the kitchen table, and it looks like he's trying to help."

Brian was close enough for Justin to smack him on the arm. "Not me, you asshole! She meant the _dog_!"

Brian smiled down at his partner. "Ohhh," he said melodramatically. "I could have sworn she was talking about _you." _He leaned down long enough to nuzzle Justin's neck and give him a kiss on the cheek before he pulled back with a lopsided smile and growled softly, "Woof! You look like one hot dog to me, Sunshine." Justin rolled his eyes at him as he began to walk toward the living room, Gus quickly in tow. Tricky's Brian radar seemed to quickly kick in as he abruptly rose to his feet and trotted along after them as if he were completely rejuvenated now.

"Go play with your _own_ balls and leave mine alone," Justin heard Brian telling the dog as his voice drifted into the kitchen. "Get your nose out of there!"

Justin burst out laughing. "Sounds like Tricky's not quite won Brian over yet with the joys of pet ownership," he observed as Lindsay grinned back at him.

"No, but his _son_ is firmly converted," she told him. "They do everything together now." Justin nodded as he finished mashing up the potatoes and reached to crack three eggs to drop them into the mixture. Grabbing a stick of melted butter in a small bowl, he deftly mixed all the ingredients together into a casserole dish with a cup of sugar before wiping his hands off on his jeans and rising from the table. "This is ready to go," he announced to the two women as he brought the glass casserole dish over to the counter.

"Thanks, Sweetie," Mel told him with a smile as he placed it down next to her. "You've created another masterpiece," she teased him. Glancing around at all the dishes lying on the countertop waiting to be cooked, she told him, "I think we've got everything under control here now for the time being; why don't you go take it easy in the living room for a while?" She leaned toward him to whisper, "You can help referee, too, if need be. God knows he could use some monitoring – Brian, I mean."

Justin chuckled softly. "Good idea. But this'll be the first time I've had to help ward off another male's advances toward him. Normally he would relish it."

Mel snorted. "There's a first time for everything," she remarked; she held her hands up in surrender as Lindsay shot her a warning look before she turned back to Justin. "Go on, Honey; dinner won't be ready for a couple of hours yet."

He nodded as he turned to head toward the living room. As he approached the space located at the other end of the hallway, he could hear Gus giggling and clapping his hands. "Do it again, Daddy!" He heard him say. He smiled; Brian's son always had the most infectious laugh when he was excited about something, and from the high pitch of his voice, he could tell Gus was enjoying whatever his father was doing enormously.

He stopped just inside the doorway and leaned against it to observe Brian sitting on the edge of the couch, holding a small bag of baby carrots; Tricky was standing about six feet away, his ears perked up as he stared over at Brian intently. He let out a short bark of impatience as Brian took a carrot out of the bag. "Okay, okay, you mongrel," he growled good-naturedly at the dog before he lofted the carrot approximately six feet into the air. Tricky jumped off the floor several inches before the carrot reached him and promptly caught it in his mouth, crunching down on it with enthusiasm as he gulped it down in two bites.

"Yay!" Gus shouted in glee as he clapped his hands. "Give him another one, Daddy!"

Justin grinned in amusement and shook his head as he walked into the living room and sat down next to Brian. "Dangling a stick out in front of someone again, Mr. Kinney?" he quipped. "You always DID manage to attract the males with that."

"You mean _managed_, Sunshine," Brian corrected him. "Remember, YOU succeeded in putting me out to pasture."

Justin snorted as Brian reached inside the bag to grab another carrot and throw it toward Tricky, who repeated his previous skill as his jaws snapped shut with their prize inside. This time, though, he seemed to do a little happy dance on his feet as Gus once more applauded his talents. "Oh, please…you're one stallion that will never be put out to pasture," Justin assured him soothingly as he kissed him on the cheek. He grasped Brian's lower arm as he leaned over to whisper, "I'll be riding _you_ for a very long time to come – and _without a saddle, _too."

Brian smirked. "Good answer, Taylor," he replied with his lips curled under. He looked over at Tricky, who barked sharply at him to continue. "Maybe we should put a _saddle_ on HIM – and a muzzle, too. Then maybe he'd keep his nose out of where it doesn't belong. Do you know that beast was feeling me up earlier?"

Gus frowned as he peered curiously over at his father from his place on the floor near Tricky. "Daddy, what does feeling you up mean?"

Justin guffawed and his eyes twinkled as he turned to look at his partner. "Yes, Brian, would you care to explain that to your son?"

Brian smiled back at Justin sweetly as he said, "Well, _you_ seem to be enjoying this way too much; why don't YOU explain it to him, then?"

Justin shrugged congenially enough. "Okay." He grinned at Brian, causing his partner's brow to narrow in suspicion. Justin looked over at Gus long enough to say with a smile, "It means _this_," just before he promptly pushed Brian down onto the couch with surprising strength and began to tickle him mercilessly, right in the side of his waist where he was the most vulnerable. Brian began to struggle in an attempt to pull Justin's hands away from him in between fits of laughter as the bag of carrots was promptly dropped onto the floor.

Sitting cross-legged near Tricky, Gus began to giggle in response and bounce lightly up and down on the floor as he rooted for his father to get the upper hand. "Get 'em, Daddy! Get 'em!" he shouted. Unfortunately, someone _else_ in the room misinterpreted Gus's command as Tricky bounded over to Brian and Justin's place on the couch and promptly placed his upper body on top of Justin's as he lay there immobile, practically trapping Justin like a furry vise.

"Huh?" Justin stopped his torment of his partner as he felt hot pants of breath on his neck and a weight like a two-ton vehicle on his back; he turned his head to see the dog's face a few inches away from his as he pushed at Tricky with all his might and finally managed to push him off the couch to raise himself into a sitting position. "Uh, Brian, call Tricky the Terminator off," he said in irritation as Brian twisted his body to sit beside Justin and gazed down in consternation at Tricky, whose tale began to wag eagerly as soon as Brian looked at him.

"It's okay, Cujo; he wasn't trying to hurt your idol," he said soothingly as Justin rolled his eyes. Brian sighed down at his number one fan; was this dog never satisfied? He reminded him of all the _other_ 'Trickys' who frequented Babylon and Woody's and constantly hit on him, despite his consistent rejections of them as he tried hard to remain faithful to his partner. He picked up the bag of carrots, scooping up some of the errant ones that had fallen onto the floor and placing them back into the bag. "Gus, maybe Tricky would like to go back out for a little while," he suggested hopefully. "I think he can only take so much excitement at one time. I just seem to have that effect on them."

Justin snorted under his breath as Gus rose from the floor. "Okay, Daddy," he said as he pulled on Tricky's camouflage-design collar. "Come on, Boy! Want to go back out?" Fortunately, Tricky liked playing in the snow almost as much as he liked playing with Brian as he obediently turned his rather cumbersome body and scampered off after Gus toward the back door, his toenails clicking on the hardwood floor. Gus quickly grabbed his coat as he opened the door and yelled at his mothers that he was going out before the two rushed outside and he slammed the door behind him in typical little boy style.

Both men let out a sigh of relief as _Hurricane Tricky_ was finally gone, at least temporarily. The two turned to look at each other as Brian said ruefully, "This wasn't quite the way I had planned on spending the Thanksgiving holiday with you."

Justin curved one side of his mouth up as he replied, "Me, neither." He placed his head on Brian's shoulder as Brian slid his arm around him, linking their other hands together in their laps. After a short while, Justin tilted his head to stare into Brian's handsome face as he whispered softly, "It hasn't been all that bad, though, you know."

Brian smiled at him tenderly in appreciation before their lips came together for a gentle kiss. As he pulled back to stare into the ice-blue eyes, he played with the back of Justin's silky hair that he loved as he promised, "I'll make it up to you tonight at the hotel. And we'll have the rest of the weekend." He didn't want to think beyond that, because that would mean dwelling on when Justin had to return to New York. It seemed like every time he was with his partner and they had to part once more, his heart sank even more at the thought. He loved Justin more with each passing day, and each time they had to say goodbye, it caused his heart to ache at the loss. He shook his head slightly at the thought of just when he had become such a sentimental person. Who would have ever thought that would happen? But then again, he never would have envisioned someone like Justin stealing his heart and never letting it go, either.

Justin smiled up at him. "Really, Brian, it's been fun…In a weird sort of way, even _with_ your latest trick hanging around like a bad cold." He sighed as he placed his head on Brian's chest and his partner's hand curled around his waist protectively. He hated having to think about saying goodbye again to Brian; each time was worse than the one before. He knew the reason why they had be away from each other – at least he _used_ know; now as time marched on, he continued to question the wisdom of that decision. Was it so bad if he chose to remain in a smaller demographic area to try and ply his trade? Did it _have_ to still be in New York? Wasn't this the age of almost instant communication? What difference did it make _where_ he painted as long as he could be where he needed to be quickly? New York and Pittsburgh weren't so far apart geographically – unless you were separated from the man you loved. Then it seemed like it was on the other side of the world…He sniffed involuntarily, silently cursing himself over his sentimental thoughts as Brian instantly honed in on his action to pull back from him slightly to gaze into his bright, glistening eyes.

"Hey," he whispered softly as he hugged Justin even closer to his body. "What _is_ it? You know you're MY favorite blond, not Cujo, even if he _does_ have a talented tongue and follows orders better than you."

Justin smiled up at him crookedly. "Thanks, I'm honored," he murmured before his smile faded as he peered into the familiar, hazel eyes. "It's nothing," he assured him with a small shake of his head, not wanting to lay some sort of unwarranted guilt trip on Brian. It wasn't either one of their faults that they couldn't be together all the time; it was just one of those unfortunate realities. He didn't want to spoil what time they DID have together with 'what ifs' and 'could have beens.' He wanted right now to live in the present and enjoy the time they had together.

"Justin…" Brian gazed into the tearful eyes; loving him for always being so open about his emotions but concerned about the sad look on his face. His partner's inability to avoid wearing his heart on his sleeve was one of the qualities that made Justin so special. "Tell me what's bothering you," he beseeched quietly.

Justin swallowed the lump in his throat as he brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed Brian's fingers on the knuckles, stalling a little for time so he could compose himself a little better. He shook his head in reassurance as he dropped their hands down to his chest to cradle the long fingers between his own; he took comfort in the familiar warmth of Brian's hand against his heart as he admitted, "It's…it's just that I was thinking about when this was all over, I guess."

"You mean when you have to take over for Tricky when we get back to the hotel?"

Justin couldn't help the snort that came from his lips, despite his mood. "No, you asshole! You know what I mean!" He lowered his voice as he said, "When we have to say goodbye again." He idly played with Brian's fingers lying on his chest as he gazed down at their interlocked hands, one long, tan and lean, the other smaller and paler but both fitting together perfectly. If only their lives could join together so well…

"I know," Brian told him softly; uncharacteristically serious for once. "It's the only bad part about seeing you again. Knowing it's only temporary." Justin could hear the small exhale of breath on his cheek as Brian changed into his familiar, sarcastic self as a form of avoiding anything too revealing, even now. "I think Tricky's gunning to be your replacement, though," he said on a lighter note. "He's a lot like you, you know; feed him regularly, let him play with toys and give him a soft, warm bed to sleep in and he's happy. I'm not sure he would be any cheaper to maintain than you, though…Did you see that price tag on his dog food in the kitchen?"

Justin sighed heavily in exasperation as he sat up straighter on the couch and turned his upper body to face his partner. "Brian, can't you be serious for just once?" He tried to disentangle his hand from Brian's to pull it away, but Brian wouldn't let him as he held onto it even tighter against his own chest now; he looked down as Justin curled his fingers around his palm almost instinctively and as always it made his heart do some sort of odd somersault inside.

Now it was his turn to sigh as he looked into the fiery blue eyes and asked solemnly, "Justin, what's the point of rehashing this again? We're both where we need to be right now; I thought we agreed on that. Wasn't this a mutual decision?" Silently, however, he couldn't help thinking that somewhere along the line there was a difference of opinion there. He _had_ pushed Justin to go to New York, mainly because he had felt his partner would forever wonder about what might have happened if he had never pursued it. At the time he had acted so casual about it, so nonchalant as he had stood there, gulping down his last shot of Beam as a badge of fortitude before having to say goodbye to the only man who had managed to steal his heart. And the little thief had stolen it, all right; lock, stock, and barrel – all the way to New York, and he had been waiting to retrieve it ever since.

Justin bit his lip thoughtfully at the intense look in Brian's eyes and the pain in his voice that he couldn't disguise. "Was it?" he asked softly as he reached up to lay his hand on Brian's cheek. "Brian, what are we doing to ourselves?"

Brian stared down into the beautiful face. "Damned if I know," he admitted with a slight smile. "Justin…"

His thoughts were interrupted just then by a hurricane blowing back in.

"Daddy! Jus'n!" Gus cried out to the two men as he came rushing up to them.

Brian looked at Justin apologetically and whispered, "Later," as Justin nodded, wondering just what his partner was going to say before Gus came running over, rosy-cheeked and excited. He jumped abruptly into Brian's lap as Brian wrapped his arms around his son's waist to keep him from falling off, noticing how tall and heavier his son was getting. It filled him with regret that he saw his son so infrequently at times that it always seemed like he had visibly grown every time he saw him.

Brian couldn't help smiling at his son's enthusiasm, however, as he said, "What is it, Sonny Boy?"

"Tricky learned how to catch a snowball!" he reported, a bright smile of pride on his face.

"He did?"

Gus shook his head vigorously. "Yeah – I threw some at him and he caught them in his mouth. Then he started eating them, though."

Justin and Brian both laughed softly as Brian asked, "Where _is_ Nolan Ryan?"

Gus frowned. "Nolan Ryan?"

Brian grinned. "Never mind – where's Tricky?"

"He came in with me," Gus reported, "But he stopped in the kitchen for something."

"Why am I not surprised?" Brian mused. "Must be a blond thing." He looked over at Justin, who shook his head before the subject of their curiosity came trotting into the living room, carrying a stainless steel food bowl in his mouth; the dog's muzzle was coated with ice pellets from having been playing in the snow and his paws were wet. Tricky came rushing up to Brian and promptly dropped the food bowl at his feet as it clattered loudly on the hard floor, shaking his coat as Brian, Justin and Gus all held their hands up to try and ward off the water being sprayed on them.

"Ewww…..Tricky!" Gus gently scolded the dog. "That's cold!" he told him as he giggled. "Isn't he silly, Daddy?"

"That wasn't quite the word I was thinking of," Brian deadpanned as he stared down at the dog who was peering up at him expectantly; as if right on cue, Tricky raised his paw for a shake for them to get reacquainted but it was to no avail as Brian merely arched an eyebrow back at him in disbelief. "Listen, Cujo, you smell like a.., well, a wet dog and I gave you enough carrots earlier to turn you into an orange. The only animal getting stuffed around here today is the turkey, so you can just forget it with those sad-looking, puppy-dog eyes. You already _ate_ your dog food earlier anyway, remember? _REAL _earlier; as in _middle of the night_ earlier. So go chase a car somewhere." _I can't believe I'm talking to a dog…_

"Brian!" Justin reprimanded him. "Don't pay him any mind, Gus; he doesn't really mean that," he reassured him. "That would be dangerous."

"Yes, I…"

"Brian!" Justin growled sternly; it was almost like having _two_ children in the house.

"Daddy, why do you keep calling him Cujo?" Gus piped up curiously as he turned his head to look into his father's eyes. The retort he would have made died on his lips as Brian took one look at the innocent-looking doe eyes and sighed; this father shit was a lot harder to maintain than he ever realized.

"It's like a nickname, Gus, just like when I call you Sonny Boy and Justin Sunshine," he explained easily as he looked over at Justin who smirked back at him. He smiled down into Gus's face as he affectionately ruffled the top of his head. "It means I…," he had to bite down hard to say the next word, "_like_ him."

"Oh," Gus responded with a pleased smile as he nodded and reached out to shake Tricky's paw a couple of times before he let go. "Well, maybe _I'll _call him Cujo sometimes, too, then," he said proudly.

Justin chuckled softly, not sure how the mothers would feel about that particular moniker. "I prefer Tricky, Gus," he told the little boy. "I think that's a fine name. Besides, your dad's very familiar with that name already, in fact." His eyes twinkled as he looked silently into Brian's face, raising his eyebrows playfully as Brian glared over at him. "He used to say that word all the time back in the Pitts, well at least part of the word anyway."

"He may be saying it again if you don't knock it off with that shit…"

"Brian…Language?" Justin reminded him. He knew it was impossible for his partner to avoid such salty language all the time; after all, with Brian it was like trying to hold back an avalanche with a shovel.

"Boys! Go wash up – almost time for dinner!" was Lindsay's sudden cry from the kitchen just then.

Brian gently placed his son down on the floor as Gus promptly took off like some miniaturized Fred Flintstone in his foot-powered car. "Yay!" The little boy cried out in delight as he promptly ran from the room, Tricky close at his heels. The little boy skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom door and promptly rushed inside; the sound of running water was heard a few seconds later as Tricky stood partially inside the bathroom looking like he was half a dog as he watched Gus wash his hands. It was only a few seconds later before the boy rushed back out of the bathroom and ran toward the dining room in a dead run.

The entire episode from Lindsay's call until Gus arrived at the table must have taken all of fifteen seconds as Brian and Justin looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

"Well…I see the Brian Kinney long legs run in the family. That took – what? Maybe 10, 15 seconds from start to finish?" Justin commented as he stood up to go join their friends.

Brian grinned as he joined him, leaning over to whisper, "I'll be glad to use some other 'long parts' of my body on you _later_."

Justin blushed as he looked into Brian's eyes, not even bothering to hide how Brian could make him do that even now after all this time. "I'll be looking forward to it…_Stud_," he whispered back with a smile as the two came together for what must have been Kiss #27 by now.

"We're waiting," Mel called out from the dining room, holding JR on her left hip. "You can do that later, Brian."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Why is my name the only one mentioned here? It takes two, you know."

"She likes _you_ better," Justin told him facetiously as he pursed his lips together in amusement.

Brian gave him a sideways glance that said _yeah…right_ before he took Justin's hand and led the two of them the short distance down the hallway and into Mel and Lindsay's formal dining room. Despite the name, the room was far from stuffy. It held a rectangular, medium-sized oak dining table in the middle that was currently festooned with all sorts of Thanksgiving dishes scattered around it and a large cornucopia arrangement sitting in the center decorated with mini gourds and fall flowers; a matching buffet with two maroon-colored pillar candles was sitting against the back wall, right below three windows that were open to let in the light reflecting brightly off the snow that had fallen the day before. A live ficus tree sat in one of the rear corners in a mahogany-colored, polished wooden pot and there were three paintings on the walls – one that, Brian noticed, was the painting that Justin had given them just before they moved. He gazed over at it briefly, the work both soothing as well as a little disconcerting to him because it reminded him both of how talented Justin was and also how much he had missed both his partner as well as his son since that day.

He felt Justin squeeze his hand as he turned his attention toward his partner; they exchanged a look that said both knew what each one was thinking before they sat down side by side across from the two women; Gus had commandeered the position at the far end of the table near the window as Tricky walked over and circled a nearby spot next to the little boy. JR, who had awakened from her nap, was sitting contently in a high chair between the two mothers, munching on a large slice of apple.

Brian watched as the dog turned in a circle over and over and over again for several seconds before he finally lay down with a soft groan on the carpet next to Gus. "What the he, uh…what in the world is that dog _doing_?"

Lindsay smiled. "He does that…it must be some sort of dog thing, like when they used to roam the earth like a wild pack. I think it's like feathering his nest."

"I think it's like he's got a screw loose," Brian remarked. "Just how big are dog brains anyway? Must be about the size of a pea."

"You mean like _yours_?" Mel volunteered as Brian glared over at her. "Oops! Sorry, couldn't resist," she offered by way of explanation with a smile as Lindsay shot her a warning look.

"Uh…Justin, would you do the honors of carving up the turkey?" Lindsay requested. "I don't think I trust either Mel or Brian to wield a knife at the moment."

Justin nodded as he stood up and walked over to the other end of the table where the golden-brown turkey lay on an ivory-colored platter, surrounded by apple stuffing sprinkled with cranberries. "This looks great, Lindsay," Justin stated as he picked up a nearby carving knife and large fork as he studied which part to attack first. "It's almost too pretty to cut up."

"Only _you_ would compare a dead bird to a work of art," Brian quipped in amusement as Justin glowered at him. "Just cut off his leg and let's get on with it."

Justin sighed, wondering if he had been wrong when he thought Brian might actually be turning a little sentimental in his 'later years.' "Don't hurry the artiste," he told his partner defensively as he held the knife and fork up in mid-air and studied where to start his carving. Finally, he chose to start cutting length-wise down the side of the bird's breast, deftly carving evenly-spaced slices of white meat and placing each slice on a nearby, matching oval plate. He turned to look at Gus to say, "Do you like white or dark meat, Buddy?"

"I want a leg just like Daddy," he said with barely controlled restraint; he jiggled lightly up and down in his chair in anticipation as he watched wide-eyed as Justin sliced a large turkey leg from the bird and placed it on the serving plate.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Justin told him with a smile. "Your father's a _leg man,_ too….along with some other body parts." He smiled sweetly over at his partner who promptly stuck his tongue out briefly at him. "That leg's for you, Gus," he told the little boy with a smile. "Brian?"

The brunet peered into his eyes with that look that always made his skin flush as he drawled, "I think I'm in the mood for some nice, juicy thigh myself. Some white meat thigh." Justin turned a darker shade of pink as Brian turned to ask Lindsay, "It that a Butterball turkey? They're my favorite."

Justin tried hard to ignore his innuendo as he sliced off one of the turkey's thighs and reached over to grab Brian's plate; he slid the meat onto it as he advised him, "You'll have to settle for dark meat for now, _Mr. Kinney_." Brian winked at him as Justin turned his attention back to his task; within minutes, he had cut most of the bird up, leaving just the carcass intact as he picked up the platter and took it back to the kitchen. Just before he started to head back to the dining room, he reached over and pulled the wishbone away from the carcass. Wiping it off, he slipped it into his pants pocket before returning to take a seat at Brian's side.

Lindsay looked around the table, grateful to be there with her partner, children, and two of her dearest friends. She smiled at Brian as she said sincerely, "I'm very happy you and Justin could be here with us today. It makes our Thanksgiving even more special."

"Yeah," Gus agreed. "And don't forget Tricky! _He's_ special, too." He turned to look over at the dog, whose head had sprung up at the mention of his name. "Aren't you, boy?" he said smiling. Tricky interpreted that as an invitation to come closer as he promptly rose from his seat and walked over to Gus and tried to nuzzle his hand with his large head.

"Gus, don't let him lick your hand," Mel told him sternly, "or you'll have to go wash them again."

Gus peered down sympathetically into Tricky's big brown eyes as he murmured, "Sorry, boy, I'll have to pet you later." He placed his hands on top of the table to make sure Tricky didn't succeed as he asked Lindsay, "Mommy, are we going to eat now? I want some pum'kin pie."

"Not before we eat our turkey and vegetables, Gus," Mel told him firmly.

"But Momma, pum'kin _is _a vegetable."

Brian grinned proudly. _Smart little fucker_. "He's got a point, _Momma._"

Mel opened her mouth, ready to tell Brian to butt the hell out, when she caught a warning glance from Lindsay and replied firmly instead, "Dessert doesn't count, Gus," Mel persisted. "You can't eat pie first."

"You can if you're Justin," Brian countered. "He thinks dessert is one of the major food groups. Ow!" he growled a few seconds later as Justin kicked him roundly in the shin. As he turned to stare over at his partner, Justin merely glanced over at him and smiled innocently.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Gus asked concerned.

"I'll be fine, Sonny Boy; but someone's trying his best to wind up in the doghouse later."

"Tricky doesn't _have_ a doghouse; he sleeps with me in my bed."

Brian explained patiently, "I was referring to some _other_ blond that normally sleeps in another bed – not Tricky." He reached under the table to briefly squeeze Justin's thigh for emphasis as he leaned in to whisper in his ear, "You are so asking for it, Sunshine."

"Is that a promise?" was the impertinent reply as he smirked back at him, the thought of just what 'punishment' Brian might exact later sounding deliciously intriguing.

"Count on it," Brian countered huskily as he playfully bit the lower lobe of Justin's ear before straightening up and saying in a southern accent, "Now pass us them vittles!"

Gus frowned, not quite sure what 'vittles' meant but hoping it referred to something edible. A few seconds later, he was rewarded by his mothers beginning to pass around each of the dishes that were set on the table: sweet potato casserole, pasta salad, corn, cranberry salad, stuffing, hot dinner rolls and the turkey.

Justin stabbed one of the deviled eggs with his fork and held it up playfully in front of his partner's lips. "Here, Brian – a deviled egg for a devil," he said, waggling his eyebrows as he waved it slowly back and forth.

Brian curled one corner of his mouth up in hesitation, but after a few seconds he obligingly opened his mouth and took a small bite before offering one to Justin, who promptly finished the rest of it off and licked his lips appreciatively, earning a lust-filled look from his partner who couldn't wait to be alone with his own delicious morsel later at the hotel.

As the two men playfully fed each other, Mel looked over at them in astonishment; it was like that other time at dinner several years ago after Justin had been reinstated to PIFA and the two had acted like newlyweds, kissing each other and helping to gather the dinner dishes together at Debbie's house. It was amazing to see them _still_ acting that way after so many years. As Mel stared at them wistfully, she couldn't help but be a little envious that these two men still felt so enamored with each other. She and Lindsay still loved each other, too, but their relationship had mellowed into more of a comfortable, quiet one; something told her that when it came to Brian and Justin, their relationship would never be thought of in that way.

Brian found himself eating many more carbs than he normally did, thanks in no small part to his partner's influence; Justin kept spooning samples of every food onto his plate with promises that they "would work it off" later. Before he knew it, he had ingested his entire week's normal carb intake in one sitting.

He suddenly felt something pressing into his crotch below the table and turned to stare at his partner with a grin on his face. "What's the matter, Sunshine? Can't wait until later for your punishment?" He began to reach his hand down to squeeze Justin's cock to return the favor when he came into contact with a cold, wet nose instead. "What the hell?" he growled as he looked under the table. "Shit! Get your nose out of there, Cujo!"

Justin laughed. "Sorry, Brian, that wasn't me."

"No kidding; I think I figured that out." He looked under the table again and groaned as Tricky wagged his tail and stared up into his face, his mouth hanging open as he panted softly. "Aargh! Why me? I don't even _like_ animals."

"Sure you do," Justin pointed out helpfully. "I remember that bear you brought home to the loft that one night…"

Gus's eyes lit up as he asked his father, "You had a BEAR in your loft, Daddy? Can you get him back? Where did he go?"

Justin chuckled as Brian said, "I think he went back to his lair, Gus; I don't think Goldilocks here wants the bear to come back anyway – or any _other_ bears for that matter."

"Damn straight," Justin growled under his breath as Gus pouted in disappointment. He noticed the boy's glum expression as he suggested, "I'll tell you what, though, Buddy; come next summer why don't your dad and I come back up to Toronto and we'll take you to the zoo to see _lots_ of animals, including all the bears, okay? And we can sketch some together later after dinner. Would you like that?"

Gus beamed as he nodded his head. "Yeah! That'd be great, Jus'n!" The little boy's eyes lit up as Lindsay told her son she and his other mama would go get the pumpkin pie for their dessert and bring back some coffee for the grownups. As they excused themselves, Mel pulling JR into her arms to take her along, Gus turned again toward Justin and asked thoughtfully, "Jus'n?"

Justin smiled warmly at him. "Yeah, Buddy?"

"Daddy said he'll be coming back to see us for Christmas. Will you be here, too?"

The two men locked gazes on each other over Gus's innocent, hopeful question; they hadn't really discussed their plans for Christmas yet. It always seemed like something happened to their best-laid plans to mess them up. It had been a miracle that the two of them had managed to steal away together for Thanksgiving; thanks to the ice storm in New York it almost hadn't happened at all. "Justin?" Brian prodded softly by his side, hoping his answer would be yes but not wanting to encourage him either way.

Justin thought about his response; he knew he might be shooting off his foot by agreeing to come back for Christmas, since the holiday season in New York tended to be a busy one with patrons either purchasing ready-made paintings or commissioning artists for custom-made portraits; but his sentimental side also knew he couldn't bear to stay in New York and be apart from the man he loved, as well as his mother and sister and his friends. Christmas always meant it was a time to come together, not worry about how much money you could make. He answered Gus while he never took his eyes off his partner's face. "Yeah," he whispered as he stared into Brian's eyes and smiled. "I'll be here."

* * *

><p><em>TBC - Yes, there will be an epilogue (sigh) - so much for two-part story - ha! Thanks to Boriqua522 for looking this over for me.:)<em>


	5. Make A Wish

_A/N: Brian and Justin finally get some alone time together and get a chance to speak from their hearts._

* * *

><p>Brian took a sip of his coffee as he watched in amusement while Justin eagerly dug into his piece of dessert, always amazed at how much he could eat and still remain so slim. He knew Justin wasn't much of an exercise freak – not really worrying too much about attending regular sessions at any fitness club either in New York or the Pitts – but he knew from what Justin had told him that he did a lot of walking in New York, mainly out of necessity but also to scope out possible new ideas for his paintings. That, along with a high metabolism, must explain how he managed to keep so trim. He always thought Justin's body was made with the perfect proportions, although it was nice that he had a larger cock than you would expect from someone so slim; he couldn't help smirking slightly at the thought – God knows he had certainly taken full advantage of that fact. He couldn't help smiling like an idiot, either, at the thought that Justin planned on being here for Christmas – that made having to endure some of their mishaps here at the Munchers' house more than worth it, because now he had something else to look forward to in the next few weeks. He wondered if there might be more to Justin's promise of merely returning for Christmas, too, but for now he was content to just be grateful for that much. There would hopefully be time later when they were alone to discuss it further.<p>

Justin sensed Brian staring at him as, sure enough, he turned his head to find his partner gazing into his eyes with something that looked like pure contentment. "What?" he asked softly, not accustomed to seeing such a look on his partner's face. Gus and the Munchers had left their places a little earlier, the women to stack the dishes into the dishwater and wash the pots and pans, and Gus to take Tricky out for a visit to the backyard again.

Brian curled one part of his lips up ruefully, knowing he had been caught 'Justin daydreaming.' "Nothing," he said as nonchalantly as he could. "I'm just trying to remain stationary long enough to allow my stomach enough time to adjust to all those carbs you forced down me."

Justin snorted, totally on to him as usual. "I don't think you put up much of a fight, _Mr. Kinney_." He reached down with his middle finger to steal a small amount of whipped cream from the top of his piece of pie as he held it up in front of his partner's mouth with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's just test that theory," he murmured seductively as he gazed into Brian's eyes intently. "Can you resist one more gram of carbs?"

Brian whispered back to him, his voice low and velvety as he found himself unable to look away from the expressive blue eyes. "It might depend upon the incentive _attached_ to it," he responded. He raised his hand to grasp Justin's wrist as he opened his mouth slightly to allow his partner to slide his finger inside; he closed his lips firmly around it as his tongue laved at the creamy, sweet substance.

Justin watched with darkened eyes as he slowly pulled his finger out and Brian moved to capture his fingers with his. His heart felt like it might burst when he gazed into his lover's eyes as he couldn't help thinking silently, _God, I love you so fucking much, Brian Kinney_.

Justin couldn't help blushing at the intense look Brian was giving him, wondering what was going through his mind; his heart was beating fast in response, just like it did that first day when he had first met him, scared and unsure, under that streetlamp. He knew Brian had seen right through his bravado that day, but even with his inexperience and naivety he could still recognize the look of desire in the handsome man's eyes, the same look he was seeing right now, only this time he knew it was also tempered with love, a love that had to be reflected in his own eyes.

"Justin…," Brian began tentatively. While they were alone, perhaps the two of them could discuss what he had been wanting to talk about all day; whether there was any possibility they could somehow come up with a plan where the two of them could at least be in the same city together at the same time; he wasn't sure how they would do it – his business was firmly ingrained in the Pitts and Justin had made too many contacts in New York City to just abandon them, but surely there could be some sort of compromise they could reach. He knew the constant separation was fucking killing him, and it was getting increasingly harder and harder to say goodbye each time.

Hands still intertwined together between them and resting on Brian's leg now, Justin looked into the pensive face of his partner and asked, "Yes?"

Brian opened his mouth in an effort to speak from his heart just as Gus and Tricky came bounding in; the dog promptly rushed up to Brian once he realized his favorite chew toy was still seated at the dinner table and began to lick his lower arm vigorously as the two men reluctantly broke off their embrace, leaving Brian silently cursing the dog's bad timing and Justin wondering exactly what Brian was about to say; his voice had sounded almost nervous and hesitant. Was he worried about something? As Brian smiled at his son, however, Justin's curiosity faded away for now as Brian told their intruder, "Back off, Cujo!" He pulled his saliva-soaked hand away to rest it on top of the table as he grimaced. In a perfect imitation of the Peanuts cartoon, he intoned in a nasally voice, "Bleh…Dog Germs!"

"At least he didn't kiss you," Justin offered helpfully. "Not yet, anyway."

Brian gave him a death-ray glare as he muttered, "Don't give him any ideas." He slid his chair back from the table as he stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom." He peered down into his lover's eyes innocently as he added in invitation, "You coming?"

Justin stared up at him mischievously. "I don't know…Am I?" He let out a surprised squeak as he was suddenly pulled up out of his chair by a pair of strong, muscular arms.

"You will be shortly," Brian whispered with a raspy voice in his ear. "If you'll excuse us, Sonny Boy; Justin and I need to _wash up_." Sliding his arm around Justin's waist to make sure he didn't get away – not that he figured his partner would put up much of a fight, anyway, but he wasn't taking any chances – he began to lead them out of the dining room, stopping to turn around from a few feet away as he heard toenails clicking on the hardwood floor behind them. He turned his head to growl, "Not you, Cujo! Stay! Play dead! Roll over! All of the above!" Finally, Tricky plopped down and rolled over on cue, sticking his paws up in the air as Justin chuckled.

"Let's go while he's incapacitated," Brian told him as they made a hasty exit, Justin's soft laughter making his insides go a little crazy in anticipation. A few seconds later, he had slammed the bathroom door firmly shut behind them as he urgently grabbed at his partner's clothing and they became further 'reacquainted' with each other.

* * *

><p><em>Fifteen Minutes Later<em>

A quick fuck later, Brian watched from his place in the living room at the end of the couch as his two 'boys' lay side by side on their stomachs in the middle of the room, looking like twins. Both Gus and Justin had their upper bodies propped up by their elbows as Justin sketched out a couple of incredibly lifelike black bears with a graphite pencil onto a piece of drawing paper, Gus's left arm draped over his back as he peered over intently at the picture slowly unfolding. Tricky had finally succumbed to the excitement of the day's activities as he lay curled up on his monogrammed dog bed in a corner of the room, lightly snoring away, no doubt dreaming of the day he and Brian would be the best of buds.

Brian uncharacteristically felt his eyes misting over a little at the scene in front of him as Lindsay walked in to join him on the couch, Mel having taken J.R. upstairs to bed a few minutes earlier. She placed her arm lightly on his back as she followed his gaze over to Gus and Justin, who was now letting their son use some colored pencils to fill in the background details that he had drawn. The look on Gus's face at the moment was pure happiness as he beamed over at Justin proudly when he gave the boy a compliment over the color theme he was using.

"They really are something together, aren't they?" she whispered to him. "He really loves Justin, you know."

Brian sniffed a little, hoping Lindsay wouldn't notice the reason why as he nodded. _His son wasn't the only one…_ "Yeah," he agreed. "He sure does." His partner had been such a fixture in his son's life from practically his moment of birth; Justin's zest for living and his passion for things little boys typically adore like eating sundaes, drawing pictures, watching animated cartoons and just being plain silly made the two of them the best of buddies. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect situation between the boy he adored and the man he loved.

"Oh," Lindsay said all of a sudden as she put her hand up to her mouth. "That reminds me! Gus made something at school for Thanksgiving back in October that he wanted you and Justin to have. I told him to wait until we celebrated our own Thanksgiving today in hopes he could give it to both of you personally. He's very proud of it – he even received a gold star for it for being named the best one in the class."

Brian arched his brows curiously. "Well, I'm not surprised about that," he said. "After all, he _is_ my son." Lindsay grinned at the expected answer as he asked, "What is it?"

She smiled. "I'd rather he show it to you. Honey," she called over to her son. "Why don't you go get your school project that you wanted to give to your dad and Justin and read it to them? It's upstairs on your dresser."

Gus jumped up from his place on the floor, the now completed drawing clutched in his hand as he walked over to his father. "Okay, Mommy. Look what Jus'n and I drew, Daddy!" he said to his father, an elated look on his face.

Brian pulled him up to sit on his lap as he looked down at the drawing. It showed a couple of black bears in the corner near a heavy thatch of thick pine trees; on the other side of the sheet were a group of three people of differing heights that Gus had obviously drawn himself that were standing next to a tent – two with dark-hair and the middle person with yellow hair. They all were crudely drawn but it was obvious they all had wide smiles on their faces. The three were holding what appeared to be sticks in their hands with something dangling from them that he couldn't recognize.

Brian eyed his son tenderly, the love for him obvious on his face as he asked his son, "Who are these people, Sonny Boy?"

Gus gave him a _duh_ look as he pointed to each one and explained. "Daddy," he said in a tone that sounded like he was exasperated that his father had to even ask. "That's you and me and Jus'n."

Justin brushed his hands on the thighs of his jeans as he stood up and walked over toward them; Lindsay got up and made a motion for him to sit down next to father and son as she sat down in the recliner nearby. He gave her a grateful smile as he sat down next to Brian and listened as Gus explained whom he had drawn.

"Ohhh," Brian said in understanding, a lump forming in his throat at his son's revelation. "Of course. But what are those sticks we're all holding?"

"Daddy!" Gus said almost as if he were insulted as he turned his head to look into his father's eyes. "We're holding fishing poles and Jus'n has a pencil in his hand so he can draw all the big fish that we catch when we go camping! Can we go camping, Daddy?"

Brian and Justin grinned at each other as Justin offered, "I'm not quite sure your dad is the camping type, Gus. Maybe we could rent a camper, though so the two of you could go fishing. Then Tricky could come, too."

Brian glared at him as if he were insane as Gus's face lit up in excitement. "Yeah! Could we do that, Daddy? Tricky's never gone camping before. He would love it! We'll have to find a place to park near the lake to fish and then Tricky could play in the water, too. He _loves_ water! I bet he could even catch a fish in his mouth!"

"Yeah….No doubt with _those_ jaws," Brian told him dryly. He watched suspiciously as the dog's head poked up from his dog bed at the sound of his name; as they made eye contact, the dog's tail began to thump madly against the fleece-like fabric. Brian quickly turned his head away in hopes the dog would settle back down, afraid to look over at him again for fear of encouraging him. He heard the dog's tail eventually stop wagging and a groan emerge from the dog as he ventured a look back over, noticing Tricky lying back down on the bed in resignation as he sighed in relief.

"We'll have to see, Sonny Boy," Brian told him tenderly. "Maybe we _can_ do that, but it will have to be later next year when it gets warmer and the fish start biting, okay?"

Gus nodded, satisfied that at least his father hadn't totally dismissed the idea. "Okay, Daddy," he agreed as Justin grinned over at him and winked conspiratorially.

"Gus, you want to go get your present now?" Lindsay urged him. She had been watching the interaction between Gus, Brian and Justin in rapt fascination. She continued to be amazed by how comfortable the three were together, but it simply pointed out what she already knew: her son loved both of these men deeply. She was glad Brian and Justin's relationship was still going strong, then, because she knew Gus would miss Justin terribly if they ever parted. She hoped that would never happen, but if it did, she knew she would have to make sure that Justin somehow had a continuing presence in her son's life.

"Okay, Mommy," Gus said as he quickly scooted off the couch and went running down the hallway toward the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Tricky, who had been seemingly dead to the world earlier, suddenly sprung up and trotted after him, his tail swinging back and forth excitedly as he went.

Shortly afterward, the three could hear Gus rushing back down the steps. "Slowly, Gus!" Lindsay scolded him, afraid he would trip and fall, especially with Tricky underfoot.

Soon the sound of Gus walking quickly down the hallway could be heard, Tricky's toenails clicking on the floor as they came striding back down the hallway together. Both men looked up as Gus came walking into the living room carrying what appeared to be a framed work of some kind. He had a beaming smile on his face as he walked up to both men. They scooted over so he could sit beside them and peered over curiously at the object in his hands.

It was obvious that Gus had written what was encased under the glass himself; his penmanship for someone so young was surprisingly good, though. It appeared to be some sort of poem or short story as Lindsay advised them, "To commemorate Thanksgiving, Gus's teacher asked her students to write about what they were thankful for. She awarded the best essay to Gus," she said proudly as they noticed a large, multi-pointed gold star affixed to the upper right-hand corner of the piece of paper. "I had it framed for you two to keep so it wouldn't deteriorate," she told them as she smiled over at her son. "Sweetie, would you like to read it to them?"

Gus nodded a little shyly as he began to read, "I am thankful for my Mommy who makes my lunch each day and writes me notes to put inside my lunchbox. I am thankful for my best friend Joey who gives me his peanut butter and jelly sand'iches when Mommy fixes me ham salad." The boys chuckled at that part as Gus giggled back at them before carefully reading the rest of what he had written, his voice occasionally stumbling over the lengthier words.

"I am thankful for my Momma who sings to me when I am sick. I am thankful for my home where it is warm and I have plenty of toys to play with. I am thankful for Tricky, the most wonderful dog in the world!" Tricky, who was reclining at his feet, promptly began to thump his tail on the floor at the sound of his name again.

"I am thankful for my Daddy who plays trains with me and gives me rides on his shoulders so I am ten feet tall and who takes me out for ice cream cones and makes special water balloons so we can get really wet." Justin had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, hoping that the teacher didn't realize just what sort of latex material Brian used to make his 'special water balloons' with; after all, Brian had to find a use for the leftovers somehow.

Gus continued, "I am thankful for my other Daddy Jus'n who draws with me and watches cartoons with me and fixes my favorite pancakes when I am sick."

Justin's breath caught in his throat at the sound of Gus calling him 'Daddy.' One of his fondest wishes had always been to have a child and hear him being called that; at that moment he realized he already _had_ a child who called him that, and it threatened to overwhelm him at the emotions flowing through him.

"Gus…Buddy," he struggled to say, "This is wonderful." His eyes glistened with tears of joy as he reached over and impetuously gave the little boy a fierce hug. Brian couldn't help smiling softly at the sight of his two special boys embracing each other before he, too, swept his son up into a tight hug of his own.

As Gus handed the precious essay to Justin, he couldn't help looking down to study what Gus had written. He knew that no matter what accolades he might hopefully receive in his lifetime for his art, this special, heartfelt tribute from Gus would be the best award he could ever receive. The only question would be which one of them would get to keep it – him or Brian? He knew he wouldn't be the only one who would treasure such a gift.

"Okay, Honey," Lindsay told the little boy, noticing Gus trying to stifle a large yawn. She noticed Brian trying to do the same as she said, "Time for you and Tricky to go to bed."

Gus's lower lip drew down as he begged, "Do I have to, Mommy? I want to stay up with Daddy and Jus'n."

Lindsay looked at her son sympathetically but shook her head firmly as she stood her ground. "No, Honey. Your Dad and Justin didn't get much sleep having to stay down here last night. They really need to go over to the hotel so they can catch up on some sleep, but you'll see them again soon before they leave, okay?"

"When, Daddy?" Gus pressed his father and Justin.

Brian's heart broke just a little at the sorrowful tone of his son's voice. He never would have imagined that he could have had a son who would grow to love him so deeply; amazingly, though, instead of making him uncomfortable, it filled him with intense joy and overwhelming emotion. He had been hoping to finally get some quality time alone with his partner, but he also knew he didn't want to disappoint his son. He looked over at Justin to say, "Tomorrow?" Justin smiled in agreement and nodded as Brian confirmed, "We'll come back over tomorrow, then, and the three of us can go out somewhere together, okay? As long as it not's a shopping mall – I'm not going anywhere _near_ anything remotely resembling one on the day after Thanksgiving."

Justin grinned. Secretly, he didn't want to, either; he didn't especially mind going shopping from time to time, but he was normally more apt to just wear the clothes he felt most comfortable in and to hell with designer clothing. He peered over thoughtfully at Lindsay as he asked, "Any suggestions what we could do?"

"Well, at the risk of him breaking his neck, they're opening up the ice-skating rink downtown tomorrow."

Justin nodded as Gus squealed in excitement over the idea. "He doesn't know how to skate, then."

"Oh, I didn't mean Gus; he knows how to ice skate pretty well. I meant his father. Have you ever seen Brian on skates? He's not very good at it."

"Hey!" Brian complained as Gus giggled at his reaction. "I do all right on skates," he grumbled in protest. "As long as there aren't a lot of people around to run into."

Justin reached over to grab Brian's lower wrist as he said soothingly, "Don't worry, _Daddy_, Gus and I will prop you up so you don't fall and look like a total dweeb…Right, Gus?"

Gus wasn't sure what a dweeb was, but he nodded his head at his father and said solemnly, "We'll take good care of you, Daddy, and we won't let anyone turn you into a dweeb. Does that mean we can go, then?" he asked hopefully as he looked over at his mother.

She smiled at the glare Brian shot her way as Justin nodded. "Looks like you're going ice skating tomorrow, Buddy," he told the little boy as Brian sighed in resignation. There was no way he could possibly complete against both of his guys.

"Yay!" Gus shouted in triumph as Tricky promptly let out a bark of excitement from his place on the floor nearby, not quite sure what all the hoopla was about but not really caring, either; as long as everyone else was happy, he was happy.

"I am not a _dweeb_, by the way," Brian told his partner as Lindsay stood up to take Gus's hand to head up to bed. "I never have been and I never will be."

Justin grinned. "Of course not," he said, but Brian thought the statement sounded a little circumspect. His suspicions were confirmed as he heard his partner mutter under his breath, "At least not on dry ground, anyway."

Lindsay pursed her lips together to keep from laughing as she said, "Gus, give your father and Justin a hug goodnight, okay? You'll see them tomorrow."

Gus shuffled over to his father, who swept him up into a firm hug; with a grunt and kiss on his cheek, he pulled back to stare into the large brown eyes. "Good night, Sonny Boy," Brian murmured tenderly. He was surprised how easily the next words fell from his lips. "I love you."

"Good night, Daddy," the little boy said. "I love you, too…this much!" he exclaimed as he held his hands out far apart. Brian thought his heart would overflow as his watched his son reach his hands out toward Justin, who pulled him against his own body for a hug as well.

"Good night, Gus," Justin whispered with a smile against the little boy's face as Gus nuzzled his cheek before giving him a slightly slobbery kiss. "We'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

Gus nodded sleepily as he broke from Justin's embrace and placed his small hand over his mouth to try and stifle another yawn. "Goodnight, Jus'n. I love you this much too," he said, again stretching out his arms as wide as they would go.

Justin simply nodded as Lindsay wished them a safe trip back to the hotel and took Gus's hand to lead him and Tricky out of the room. Even if he _had_ wanted to say something, he was too choked up at the moment to speak anyway. He turned to look at Brian when he felt his partner reach over and squeeze his hand, his eyes shiny with sentimental tears that he didn't try to hide. He noticed a flicker of understanding wash over Brian's face as he smiled back sheepishly at him.

Brian whispered, "Ready to go?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah."

Brian reached inside his pocket to retrieve his cellphone to call the number of a taxicab service Lindsay had provided him with earlier. He hung the phone up a few minutes later, telling Justin they would be there in about 10 minutes. Finally they would be able to retreat to their hotel suite and get some much-desired time alone; as much as Brian had thoroughly enjoyed the time he had spent with Gus since their arrival yesterday, Tricky notwithstanding, he was definitely looking forward to finally being alone with his partner.

Brian reached over to pick up Gus's framed essay to study it for a moment. "He's really a great kid, isn't he?" he whispered proudly as he held it up in his hands to reread it.

Justin smiled as he placed his hand on Brian's shoulder and peered down at it. "Yeah, he is. And his father's not too bad, either."

Brian placed the object down on his lap as he turned to gaze into Justin's eyes. "_Both_ his fathers," he corrected him. He shook his head in amusement as a couple of tears actually began to trickle down Justin's cheeks. He reached over to place his hands on either side of Justin's face, gently wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "Sentimental twat," he murmured as he leaned in to steal a kiss for a few seconds before pulling away again at the sound of a toot from a car horn, no doubt signifying that their taxi had arrived.

"Let's go, _Dad_," Brian teased him as he stood and pulled Justin to his feet. He stopped in his tracks for a second as Justin frowned in confusion over his action.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clutching Gus's prized, framed essay under his arm.

"I'm just waiting for the not-so-little pitter-patter of paws on the floor," Brian explained as Justin grinned at him. "I'm sure if he was small enough, he'd find a way to cram himself into my suitcase somehow."

"Well, it _is_ hard to resist the Kinney charm," Justin replied as he picked up his suitcase and Brian did the same. "I should know," he added as he leaned up to kiss Brian on the cheek. "We'd better hit the road, then, before he figures out you're leaving; he's going to be devastated when he wakes up."

"Yes, he will be," Brian remarked facetiously as he curled his lips under and grinned at his partner. "I should have told Gus to feed him an extra dog biscuit in my memory."

Justin snorted. "I think a rawhide would have been more appropriate."

"Excuse me? If anyone can be compared to a 'rawhide,' Sunshine, it would be you – at least you _will_ be when Iget done with you later," Brian promised with a part evil/part sexy grin that went promptly to Justin's cock. "Now let's go. The sooner we get to the hotel, the sooner I can demonstrate to you exactly what I mean."

"I'll be looking forward to that, _Mr. Kinney_."

Brian grinned as the two men walked toward the front door and he opened it to observe the taxi sitting in the driveway, waiting for them with the trunk open. As he shut the Munchers' door behind them, finally without his ever-present shadow following him, he almost felt a strange sort of loss. _Shit_, he thought. _The next thing you know Justin will talk me into getting a fucking pet_. He shook his head as if to try and clear that unpleasant vision from his mind as Justin opened the back passenger door and entered the cab; he took a moment to place their luggage in the trunk of the vehicle before Brian joined his partner in the back seat and shut the door.

As he gave the taxicab driver instructions on which hotel to drive them to, Brian leaned back in the seat and placed his hand on Justin's upper leg, at least that is where it rested initially. It didn't take long, however, for his roaming hand to creep closer to his preferred target as Justin leaned his head on Brian's shoulder and closed his eyes, the lack of sleep finally catching up with him. When Brian continued his trek toward a certain part of his anatomy, however, Justin opened his eyes and grabbed his wrist in a silent warning to behave.

"Brian," Justin said under his breath, relieved that the taxi driver had the radio on low so at least part of their conversation would be obscured. "You're incorrigible," he chastised him softly.

"No, I'm insatiable…for _you_," Brian whispered huskily in his ear as he gave the fleshy lower lobe a nip and burrowed his face into the pale flesh of Justin's neck as he licked, kissed and sucked the soft skin with his lips and tongue. Despite his reservations over being observed by the taxi driver, Justin couldn't help arching his neck away from Brian's lips to give him greater access, biting his own lip to avoid the moan that threatened to escape as his body shivered in response to his lover's attention.

His eyes lifted just then to meet those of the taxi driver in the rearview mirror as he blushed profusely, knowing the man knew precisely what was going on; after all, it wasn't hard to see Brian nuzzling the side of his neck like some sleek cat rubbing up against his leg. To the driver's credit, though, he didn't appear disgusted by what was going on, but merely quickly averted his eyes back to the road when he realized he was caught eavesdropping as Justin tried only half-heartedly to push his impatient lover away. When Brian began to unsnap his jeans, however, and he felt his warm fingers sliding down the inside of his briefs, he knew if he didn't stop him soon he would come right there like a horny little school kid. "Brian, cut it out," he whispered to him. "Shit, stop it, damn it," he scolded him as he grabbed Brian's wrist; his partner had the gall to actually chuckle at him softly in response. Justin knew as much as he wanted nothing more than to let Brian 'indulge' himself at the moment, if he didn't put a stop to what he was doing right now, any second those talented fingers would be curling around his dick and giving it a squeeze, and he knew he would turn into a blithering, vocal slut in no time.

He forced himself to push away from his partner as he heard Brian groan in protest, but at least for now he had to take the upper hand. "Stay," he said to Brian as he scooted over to the far end of the bench seat and waggled his finger at him. "Let's see if you respond to commands as well as Tricky does."

Even with the radio playing in the background, the cab driver couldn't help overhearing part of the conversation taking place in the backseat as well as the hijinks occurring as he peeked in the rearview mirror again. The blond-haired man was now scrunched up in the corner of the backseat; from the expression on his face, though, he certainly didn't appear afraid of the other man, however. It was more like he was toying with him. In the reflection of the dimly-lit streets, he could make him out just enough to see the young man's eyes twinkling at his companion playfully as they talked. Who this 'Tricky' was, though, was a mystery to him as he heard the handsome, dark-haired man respond, "I don't." He had to continually divert his attention from the road ahead back to his passengers as he observed the other man slowly slinking his way over toward the blond's part of the seat.

"Brian…" Justin couldn't help laughing at his partner's impertinent, saucy reply as Brian curled his lips under and slowly slithered over toward his part of the seat; the man had him at an impasse, because in the confines of the car there was nowhere he could go and the damn man knew it. He _also_ knew that Brian realized he wouldn't exactly put up much of a fight, either. "Don't give me that puppy-dog look," he warned, trying one last time to take control but failing miserably as Brian merely grinned back at him in triumph. "Stay back."

"Or what, Sunshine?" Brian replied saucily. "You won't roll over later?" He snorted. "Yeah…Right."

Brian pushed his body up against Justin's and stared hungrily down into his eyes. He was just about to go in for the kill as he slid his hands down his partner's body toward his waistband to pull Justin's briefs and jeans down for a first-course appetizer when the taxi unexpectedly slowed down and stopped. "Greycliff Hotel," the taxi driver intoned politely, forcing himself to keep his eyes trained in front of him in an effort not to acknowledge what almost happened in the backseat of his cab. He was actually disappointed that he wouldn't get to see his two passengers finish their 'game.' "That'll be $22.50."

"Fuck," Brian muttered in realization as Justin sighed in relief. "No Jerky Treat for me." He sighed in frustration as he reluctantly pushed himself off his partner and straightened up his clothing, sliding over to the other side of the seat as he reached inside his wallet to pull out some bills. Slipping the driver $30, he reached over and grabbed Justin's wrist. "Time to go, Mr. Taylor. You're coming with me."

Justin smirked at the double entendre before he heard Brian add under his breath, "And zip your pants back up – this is a taxicab, not the baths, for fuck's sake."

Brian received an incredulous huff of indignation as the hotel concierge opened the cab door for them and they exited the cab while they waited for the employee to retrieve their luggage. A few seconds later, the taxi pulled away as they were led through a couple of glass double doors and into a black-and-white marbled, expansive-looking lobby where a sleek, curved, cherry wood reception area sat on the far opposite wall.

Justin lagged a little behind, stopping to appreciate the art-deco design of the interior as Brian walked up to the desk to register them. He found Justin still wandering around the lobby a few minutes later when he had finished, admiring several paintings that were hung on the walls and studying the sculptures that were displayed on pedestals scattered throughout the ornate space. Brian wandered over to his partner to grasp his elbow from behind and whisper in his ear, "Enough ogling the artwork, Sunshine. Let's go upstairs so I can ogle your _ass_."

Justin blushed a little as he turned in Brian's arms to stare up into the darkened, impatient eyes of his lover, Brian's expression leaving no doubt that he was ready to make up for lost time. He nodded as the two of them walked over to the lobby elevators and waited while the next available car arrived, Brian's hand resting lightly on the upper part of Justin's back. Noting with dismay that an older hetero couple was waiting beside them, he reluctantly steered Justin into the occupied elevator as they both took their places with their backs leaning against the rear wall, each stealing longing glances at each other as they waited impatiently for the other couple to disembark on their own floor. After what seemed like an eternity, finally the elevator arrived on the fifth floor and with a polite nod to the two men, the man and woman exited the car, finally leaving the two lovers alone.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Brian slapped the red 'stop' button on the elevator's keypad and turned to slam Justin's back against the mirrored wall, tearing at his lover's clothing urgently. "I want you so fucking bad, you little tease," he growled in Justin's ear as the blond shivered in anticipation. Whenever Brian got that certain, husky tone to his voice, he knew someone was feeling particularly horny and from the almost frantic pace of Brian's attempts to disrobe him as well as the large bulge he observed in his pants, he knew someone was feeling especially frisky. Indeed, Brian seemed to have his pants and briefs yanked down in record time as an annoying claxon began to sound indicating the elevator was out of commission.

"Brian," Justin gasped out in warning about the constant beeping of the alarm as his lover reached over and tore his shirt open to bite at one rock-hard nipple before he smoothed the sting with his hot, wet tongue. He reached down with one hand to open his own pants up to pull them down his long legs along with his briefs as he used his other hand to reach inside his jacket pocket for a small tube of lubricant. In a few seconds, he had his throbbing dick slicked with the slippery gel as he reached down to curl a couple of fingers hurriedly inside Justin, who bucked at the rough but not-so-unexpected sensation. "Arrrgh!" he cried out, now unconcerned about the constant beeping noise sounding around them as he concentrated, instead, on the possessive, urgent feel of Brian's fingers thrusting inside him in preparation for what would no doubt me a hard, fast fuck.

"God, ride me, Justin," Brian demanded as he abruptly pulled his fingers out and reached down to grasp his lover by his thighs to lift him up and brace him against the rear railing of the elevator car. Justin wrapped his legs around Brian's waist as he hovered over Brian's hard, leaking cock and promptly slammed down onto it as Brian hissed at the sudden, wondrous, possessive sensation. "Yes," he moaned as he wrapped his hands tightly around Justin's waist and helped give him leverage to slide up and down on his cock, their bodies rocking together urgently like two humping, wild animals. "So good, so tight," he breathed out in appreciation. "Harder, Justin," he hissed. "Ride me harder."

Brian continued to lift Justin's upper body up so his lover could slam back down onto his cock, time and again; they were positioned at just the right angle for Brian's cock to hit his partner's sweet spot each time, making Justin moan loudly at the incredible feeling. His body felt like it was on fire, fire reserved only for this hellcat of a man as he held on tightly to Justin's lithe body while they rocked together, deeper and deeper until at last he could feel Justin's body tensing in pending climax. A few seconds later, Justin came with a loud, guttural cry as Brian followed closely behind, his long body slumping forward against the back wall of the elevator as he pinned Justin against the railing to keep him from pitching to the ground in a spineless heap along with him.

The cacophonous sound of the warning beep slowly seeped back into Brian's consciousness several seconds later as he finally lowered Justin's pliant body to the ground and reached over to punch the red button to resume the elevator's upward trek, the obnoxious noise finally ceasing as it started back up. He unzipped his carryon bag to retrieve a tee shirt so he could wipe the sticky mess off their bodies as much as he could, reserving just a cursory glance for the rest of the mess pooled on the floor. Pulling Justin's pants and briefs back up and giving his cock a quick kiss before he tucked it back inside, he managed to don his own clothing just in time for them to appear halfway normal as the elevator car slowed to a stop on the seventh floor. Justin quickly tucked his shirt back in as much as he could before a ding sounded and the doors slid open. Miraculously no one greeted them as they made a right turn and walked down the hallway hand in sweaty hand until they reached the far end where their suite was located. Just before Brian pushed the keycard into the slot to unlock the door, they turned their heads at the sound of another elevator car approaching their floor. Both men smiled at each other as they witnessed two security guards exiting the car just before they entered their appointed suite and a 'Do Not Disturb' sign was promptly hung on the doorknob and the door was firmly closed with the deadbolt immediately engaged.

* * *

><p>An hour and two fucks later, Justin was sleepily curled up in Brian's arms in their king-sized bed, sated and content, at least for now. He tried hard not to think about having to say goodbye again on Sunday, deciding instead to focus on the feeling of Brian's arms surrounding him in their safe, protective cocoon and their legs intertwined together. He loved cuddling with his lover, even though he never used that lesbionic term out loud. He still recalled the one and only time Brian had used it and at the time he thought the man had gone insane. Now, though, he wasn't so sure, because Brian was a closet, Class-A snuggler. He felt his partner's head on top of his as he hugged him tight, the even sounds of their breathing the only thing currently heard in the amazingly quiet surroundings. He could feel sleep threatening to overtake him but a thought kept nagging at him until he whispered, "Brian?"<p>

"Yeah, Sunshine?" Brian murmured, feeling the distinct weariness in his bones now that he had finally gotten at least his temporary fill of his lover's touch.

"Hand me my pants, will you?"

Brian frowned as he turned his head so he could look into Justin's eyes, not expecting that question. "Why – are you trying to escape from me already, Sunshine?"

Justin snorted. "Are you kidding me? You've got my ass so sore now I'm not sure I'll be able to walk upright for the next week."

"Maybe we can get that saddle I mentioned for Cujo and you can use him as your pack animal while you recover," his partner helpfully suggested.

Justin smacked him on the upper arm. "Just hand me my pants, you asshole."

"I love it when you're so bossy," Brian quipped; he was still confused over why Justin would need his pants but he did as requested, reaching down far enough to just barely grasp the waistband of Justin's pants and pull them up onto the bed. "Okay…You want to tell me why you need these now?" he asked as he handed them over.

Justin rummaged around in first one pocket and then the other before he located the tissue-wrapped object he was looking for. Throwing the pants once more onto the floor, he unwrapped the slightly greasy napkin to reveal the prize he had slipped inside earlier, throwing the soiled paper down on the floor to join his pants.

Brian snorted in disbelief. "You brought back leftovers here to the hotel? I'm pretty sure they serve food here, you know." He noticed oddly enough that the 'leftover' Justin was holding in his hand was scraped clean. "When did you have time to eat more turkey?" He certainly couldn't have done it in the cab on the ride over and he hadn't let Justin out of his sight ever since they had arrived at the hotel.

"I didn't bring leftovers with me!" Justin said indignantly. "Just this."

"Why? Are you going to have it shellacked when you get back to New York as a souvenir?"

Justin gazed into Brian's eyes a little embarrassed. He knew it was silly, but… "It's a wishbone, idiot. Whoever winds up with the longest piece gets to have their wish come true."

Brian chortled, that wonderfully melodic laugh that Justin heard so rarely and simply adored. "Justin, you've got to be kidding me! Did you bring your Ouija board along with you, too?" He shook his head in amusement; he never knew what Justin would come up with, but then again, that was part of his charm.

The blond's eyes flashed with irritation. "No, just this. Now shut up and make a wish."

Brian rolled his eyes but took his free hand to hold onto one end of the turkey wishbone as Justin did the same with the other end. He began to pull on the bone but didn't get very far. "Wait, Brian," he was scolded. "You didn't make a wish yet."

"Oh, my God," Brian deadpanned. "This is right up there with throwing pennies in a fountain. The only good that does is to clog up the drain." Nevertheless, he scrunched his eyes tightly together in a melodramatic fashion before opening them back up and saying, "Okay, I made my wish, Houdini. Did you make yours?"

Justin smiled at him and nodded in satisfaction as he said, "Get ready. On the count of three. One…Two…"

Before he could say 'three,' Brian abruptly pulled hard at the wishbone and promptly snagged the largest piece. "I win!" he shouted in glee.

Justin's eyes flashed from his place on Brian's stomach. "You cheated!" he cried out. "That doesn't count."

"Sure it does," Brian countered with a grin, finding it hard to believe that he was conducting an after-sex conversation about a turkey wishbone of all things. "It's not the means, it's the end. Have I taught you nothing?"

Justin sighed heavily. "I can't put it back together now, Brian," he almost whined. He knew it was silly to put so much stock into a wishbone, but for some reason it bothered him that he now wouldn't be able to divulge what his wish had been. He sighed. "Okay, Mr. _I-Always-Have-To-Come-Out-On-Top_. What was your wish?"

Still holding Justin in his arms, Brian pulled back just enough so he could stare into Justin's eyes that were currently full of fire over losing their silly little game. His expression softened as he found the courage to speak from his heart. "You want to know what I wished for, Sunshine?" Justin nodded as he said, "I wished that you and I would quit this crazy, long-distance relationship and find a way to be together all the time. This separation shit is fucking killing me…And I'm not just talking about the physical part of it, either."

Justin's eyes widened; how could Brian have known that that had been his wish, too? It seems he had won their turkey tug-of-war after all. His lips parted into a wide smile of both amazement as well as delight as he whispered back, "You do?"

Brian smiled in confirmation as he nodded, relieved to have gotten through that heartfelt declaration without stumbling over it. He still found it so fucking hard to simply tell Justin how he felt; why, he didn't know, because he knew that afterward it always filled his heart with so much happiness. He could tell right now by the look on Justin's face that he had said the right thing because it was written all over his partner's beautiful face. "Yeah, I do. Is that how you feel, too?"

Justin thought he would burst with joy as he verified, "Yeah…Yeah, I do. Shit, Brian! Why didn't you say something _before_?"

Brian slowly caressed Justin's shoulder with his fingers as he advised, "I tried, but a certain demonic dog kept interrupting me. I tried to tell you in the taxi, too. But it never seemed to be the right time. Not until you gave me the perfect opportunity just now." He gazed into Justin's soft blue eyes as he added, "As I recall, you said the victor's wish must come true, so you have no choice but to go along with what I want. Do you understand, Mr. Taylor?"

Justin knew Brian would never force him to agree to something he didn't want, but he never wanted something so badly in his life as he nodded. "Perfectly. I guess we'll just have to figure out a way, then."

Brian sobered. "That may be easier said than done, Justin. We both want the same thing, but just how are we going to accomplish that? I just can't uproot Kinnetik and you can't throw away all your contacts you've worked so hard to obtain." He sighed. "This is going to take some logistical preparation."

Justin reached up to softly trace the worry lines in Brian's brow, not daring to say aloud that Brian actually _had_ such a thing as worry lines. But he found it incredibly endearing as he whispered fervently, "We'll make it work somehow, Brian. We'll find a way. Because I don't want to be apart any longer, either. I want to go to bed with you each night and wake up in your arms each morning. I want to be there to support you through your good days and your bad. I want to experience life with you, not talk about it at the end of the day over the phone." He paused for a moment before he disclosed to his partner, "You know, just before I left Pittsburgh, Lindsay and I had a talk about that article that appeared in Art Forum magazine." Brian nodded in recollection as he continued, "Well, at one point Lindsay told me that New York was my opportunity of a lifetime and I told her that New York wasn't – _you_ were." He gazed into the astonished eyes of his lover as he replied, "I still feel that way, Brian."

Brian smiled tenderly at his partner as his heart swelled. "Well, I could certainly see why you would feel that way about me," he said smugly as Justin grinned back at him. His face dissolved into something more serious as he stared intently into Justin's eyes before he replied softly, "I feel the same way about you, Justin Taylor. I want to be with you every day, not just whenever the opportunity presents itself. I miss your constant, inane chatter about everything under the sun, your crazy zest for life and the way you find even the most mundane things fascinating. My son fucking adores you and loves you to death." He took a deep breath and hesitated for just a second before he added, "And so do I."

Their mouths came together instinctively for a deep kiss, several seconds passing by until at last they were forced to break apart to catch their breaths. Brian pulled Justin tightly against him as his partner's hand slid around his waist to pull him close, his head resting now on Brian's chest as he felt the strong heart beating beneath him. "Brian, I can still maintain my contacts in New York and paint anywhere. I want to come back – to you and to our home." Brian had kept Britin for the times when he and Justin were home together, finding it a perfect escape from the prying but well-intentioned eyes of their family and friends. At Britin, they could be alone and unfettered by either pretension or misconception.

"Are you sure, Justin?" Brian whispered against the top of his silky head. He could feel Justin's head nodding up and down as he said, "Yeah, positive. Just give me a few weeks to get everything wrapped up first. Hopefully I'll be home before Christmas, before we come back up here to visit Gus. I made a promise to him, remember?"

Brian had never really looked forward to Christmas before – his family had been so fucked up that it was just another overly commercialized day to him – but this time he knew he would be eagerly anticipating it because it meant he and Justin would finally be together again - permanently. To his surprise, he found himself saying, "Maybe the girls and Gus can come down there and spend Christmas with us at Britin instead."

Justin smiled against Brian's chest, enthralled with that idea. "That would be great," he whispered as he felt sleep starting to overtake him. "And just think; if they drive down, Tricky could come too."

Brian rolled his eyes, but the retort he started to make died on his lips as he heard Justin's regular, soft breathing and recognized that he had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself as he, too, slowly closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber, the man he loved held fast in his arms.

* * *

><p><em>Okay - this really IS the end - finally! I may let Tricky make another guest appearance in the future, though. Thanks to everyone who has been reading along and especially those readers who have taken the time to leave me their thoughts. I think it's only appropriate on this day that I let each and every one of you know how thankful I am that you read and enjoy my foray into the world of these boys. As long as you enjoy reading what I write, I would love to continue writing them. <em>Also, a special thanks to Boriqua522 for looking this over - you're awesome, my dear. <em> _


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